bV  bbU  .abb  lti4D 
Smyth,  Thomas,  1808-1873. 
The  name,  nature,  and 
functions,  of  ruling  elders 


ALSO,  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR, 

RECENTLY   PUBLISHED, 

PRESBYTERY  AND  NOT  PRELACY; 


APOSTOLICAL   SUCCESSION; 


ECCLESIASTICAL    REPUBLICANISM, 


THE    HISTORY,    CHARACTER,    AHD    RESULTS 

OF    THE 

WESTMINISTER  ASSEMBLY  OF  DIVINES. 


THE  EXODUS  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  SCOTLAND, 

AND    THE 

CLAIMS  OF  THE  FREE  CHURCH  OF  SCOTLAND 

TO    THE 

SYMPATHY   AND  ASSISTANCE   OF  AMERICAN   CHRISTIANS. 


AN 

ECCLESIASTICAL    CATECHISM, 

OF    THE 

PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 

FOE    THE    ABOVE    SEE    CRITICAL    NOTICES    AT    THE    ENP. 


NOW,     JUST     PUBLISHED, 

THE  ROMISH  AND   PRELATICAL  RITE  OF 
CONFIRMATION  EXAMINED. 


THE    NAME,  NATURE,  AND   FUNCTIONS   OF 
RULING   ELDERS. 


THE    NAME, 

NATURE,  AND  FUNCTIONS, 

OP 

RULING  ELDERS; 

WHEREIN   IT   IS   SHOWiV 

FROM  THE  TESTIMONY  OF  SCRIPTURE,  THE  FATHERS,  AND 
THE  REFORMERS, 

THAT 

RULL^G  ELDERS  ARE  NOT  PRESBYTERS  OR  BISHOPS; 

AND    THAT, 

AS   REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE   PEOPLE,   THEIR   OFFICE   OUGHT  TO   BE 
TEMPORARY. 


AN    APPENDIX, 

ON  THE  USE  OF  THE  TITLE  BISHOP. 


BY 

THOMAS'SMYTH,  D.  D., 

AUTHOR  OT  "  L-SCTURB3  ON  THB  APOSTOLICAt-  SUCCESSION,"  "  PRTTSBTTSEY^AND  NOT 
PHaLACT    THE    ECRIPTURAI,    AKD    PRIMITIVE    POLITT,"    ETC. 


PUBLISHED: 

NEW-TORK,    MARK    11.    NEWMAN,    ROBERT    CARTER,    LEAVITT,    TROW    AND    CO.,     ANt> 

WILEY  AND  PUTNAM  ;    PHILADELPHIA,    PERKINS    AND    PTJRVES,  AND  WILLIAM 

S.  MARTIEN  ;    CINCINNATI,  WEED  AND  WILSON  ;    PITTSBURGH,  THOMAS 

CARTER  ;       BOSTON,     CROCKER     AND     BREWSTER  ;      LONDON, 

WILEY  AND    PUTNAM  ;     EDINBURGH,  W.  P.  KENNEDY  ; 

BELFAST,    WILLIAM    M'COMB. 

1845. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1845, 

By  Leavitt,  Trow  &  Company, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of 
New- York. 


J.  T.  TROW  &  CO..  PRINTERS, 
33  Ann-Street.  N.  T. 


WITH  PECULIAE  EMOTIONS  OF  HOPE  AND  JOY, 

THE    AUTHOR 

ASSOCIATES      WITH     THIS     VOLUME     THE     NAMES 

OF 

WILLIAM    DEARING,    HUaH    WILSOlS',  WILLIAM  TEADON, 

WILLIAM  C.  DUEES,  D.  W.  HARRISON.  WILLIAM 

ADGER,    AND    WILLIAM   HARRALL.j 


KuUng  (B[btvs, 


WHOSE    EECENT   ELECTION    TO    OFFICE 
GAVE     OCCASION     TO     ITS      PREPAEATION. 

THE    HOPE   AND   EXPECTATION 

OB" 

THE    CHURCH    OVER    WHICH    THEY    PRESIDE, 

MAY   THEIR  NAMES,   THROUGHOUT    ETERNITY, 

a^c  ^ssocfatetr  toftl)  ft»  Spiritual  ^tibancemcnt, 

AHD  BEING    NOW 

FOUND    WISE   TO    WIN   SOULS    TO    CHRIST, 

MAT   THHT   THEN 

«HINfi      AS     STARS      IN     THE      FIRMAMENT 

OP 

HEAVEN. 


5^i:OL©QxojtL 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L 


P^SS 


The  nature,  end,  and  object  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  its  officers  and  ordi- 
nances, with  a  general  review  of  the  origin,  title,  and  history  of  the 
office  of  Ruling  Elder, 1 


CHAPTER  ir. 

In  which  it  is  shown  that  in  Scripture  the  term  Presbyter  is  always  applied 
to  the  Preacher,  and  not  to  the  Ruling  Elder  ;  with  an  examination 
of  1  Timothy  5:  17, 32 


CHAPTER  in. 

The  term  Presbyter  was  applied  by  the  Fathers  only  to  Ministers  who 
preached  and  ordained,  and  not  to  Ruling  Elders,       .         .         .         ,60 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  views  of  the  Reformers  on  the  subject  of  the  Eldership,  and  on  the 
application  to  it  of  the  term  Presbyter, 78 


CHAPTER  V. 
On  the  permanency  of  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder, Ill 

CHAPTER  VL 

Of  the  Ordmation  of  Ruling  Elders  by  imposition  of  hands ;   and  their 
cooperation  in  ordination,  .         .         .         .         .         •         .         .118 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII.  "^ 


The  value  of  the  Eldership, 124. 


APPENDIX. 

On  the  use  of  the  title  Bishop,      .        .        .        .         .        .        .        .  143 

NOTES. 

Note  A,      , 169 

"    B, 174 

"    C, 183 

"    D,      .        .        .        , 185 


PREFACE 


In  the  following  work  it  will  appear  that  while  there  may- 
be unity,  there  cannot  be — or  at  least  there  never  has  been — 
uniformity  of  opinion.  This  arises  from  the  weakness  and 
imperfection  of  our  minds  ;  the  many  influences  which  shape 
and  modify  our  view  of  evidence  ;  and  the  various  "  standing 
points  "  (as  Neander  would  express  it)  from  which  we  con- 
template the  truth.  This  variety  in  the  midst  of  unity  is 
found  even  in  doctrinal  sentiment,  but  much  more  in  mat- 
ters of  ecclesiastical  order.  Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is, 
there  will  be  found  unity  in  all  that  is  essential,  and  "  liberty" 
to  differ  in  all  that  is  not  fundamental.  And  when  we  wish  to 
know  what  is  essential  and  what  is  not  essential  to  salvation, 
and  therefore  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  edification  of  his 
people,  we  have  perhaps  the  best  and  only  guide  in  the  words 
of  the  apostle,  "  The  letter  killeth  but  the  spirit  giveth  life ;" 
"  We  are  ministers,  therefore,  not  of  the  letter  but  of  the 
spirit."  Just  in  proportion,  therefore,  as  any  point  bears  upon 
the  spirituality  of  the  church,  and  the  spiritual  well-being  of 
its  members,  is  it  essential  ;  while  just  so  far  as  it  is  but  a 
means  towards  this  end,  and  an  instrumentality  for  securing 
this  result,  is  it  unessential,  and  one  therefore  about  which  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  may  be  more  freely  tolerated,  and  diiFeren- 


Vlll  PREFACE. 


ces  of  practice  allowed.  In  reference  to  all  such  matters,  we 
should  act  upon  the  apostolic  canon  :  "  Nevertheless,"  (that 
is,  notwithstanding  ''  ye  be  otherwise  minded,")  "whereto  we 
have  attained  "  to  unity  of  sentiment,  "  let  us  walk  by  the  same 
rule,  let  us  mind  the  same  thing,"  and  be  one  in  our  affections 
towards  each  other. 

Speaking  of  this  subject,  the  late  Dr.  Arnold,  in  his  Frag- 
ment on  the  Church,  says : — "  Comparing  these  early  Chris- 
tian writers  with  the  Scriptures  on  the  one  hand,  and  with 
the  later  Church  system  on  the  other,  as  developed  in  the 
forged  apostolical  constitutions,  we  shall  be  able  to  trace  three 
stages  through  which  Christianity  passed,  and  which  indeed 
exhibit  what  may  be  called  the  law  of  decay  in  all  institu- 
tions, whether  administered  by  men  only,  or  devised  by  them 
as  well  as  administered.  The  first  and  perfect  state  exhibits 
the  spirit  of  the  institution  not  absolutely  without  all  forms, 
for  that  is  impossible :  but  regarding  them  as  things  wholly 
subordinate,  indifferent  in  themselves,  and  therefore  deriving 
their  value  from  particular  times  and  circumstances  ;  and  as 
such  particular  times  are  not  yet  come,  the  spirit  of  the  insti- 
tution is  as  yet  wholly  independent  of  them  ;  it  uses  their  min- 
istry, but  in  no  way  depends  upon  their  aid.  Then  comes  the 
second  stage,  when  from  particular  circumstances  the  exist- 
ence of  the  spirit  of  the  institution  depends  on  the  adherence 
to  particular  outward  regulations.  The  men  of  this  genera- 
tion insist,  as  well  they  may,  on  the  necessity  of  these  forms, 
for  without  them  the  spirit  would  be  lost.  And  because  oth- 
ers profess  to  honor  the  spirit  no  less  than  they  do,  therefore 
they  are  obliged  to  make  the  forms  rather  than  the  spirit  their 
peculiar  rally ing-word.  Around  and  for  these  forms  is  the 
stress  of  battle  j  but  their  defenders  well  know  that  they  are 


PREFACE.  IX 


but  the  husk  in  which  the  seed  of  life  is  sheltered ;  that  they 
are  but  precious  for  the  sake  of  the  seed  which  they  contain, 
and  to  the  future  growth  of  which  they,  under  the  inclemen- 
cies of  the  actual  season,  are  an  indispensable  condition. 

"  Then  the  storm  passes  away,  and  the  precious  seed,  safe- 
ly sheltered  with  its  husk,  has  escaped  destruction.  The 
forms  have  done  their  appointed  work,  and,  like  the  best  of 
mortal  instruments,  their  end  should  be,  that  after  having  serv- 
ed their  own  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  they  should  fall 
asleep  and  see  corruption.  But  in  the  third  stage  men  can- 
not understand  this  law.  Their  fathers  clung  to  certain  forms 
to  the  death  ;  they  said — and  said  truly — that  unless  these 
were  preserved,  the  spirit  would  perish.  The  sons  repeat 
their  fathers'  words,  although  in  their  mouths  they  are  become 
a  lie.  Their  fathers  insisted  on  the  forms  even  more  earnest- 
ly than  on  the  spirit,  because  in  their  day  the  forms  were  pe- 
culiarly threatened.  But  now  the  forms  are  securely  estab- 
lished, and  the  great  enemy  who  strove  to  destroy  them  whilst 
they  protected  the  seed  of  life,  is  now  as  ready  to  uphold  them, 
because  they  may  become  the  means  of  stifling  it.  But  the 
sons,  unheeding  of  this  change,  still  insist  mainly  on  the  impor- 
tance of  the  forms,  and  seeing  these  triumphant,  they  rejoice, 
and  think  that  the  victory  is  won,  just  at  the  moment  when  a 
new  battle  is  to  be  fought,  and  the  forms  oppress  the  seed  in- 
stead of  protecting  it.  Still  they  uphold  the  form,  for  that  is 
a  visible  object  of  worship,  and  they  teach  their  children  to 
do  the  same.  Age  after  age  the  same  language  is  repeated, 
whilst  age  after  age  its  falsehood  is  becoming  more  flagrant ; 
and  still  it  is  said,  '  We  are  treading  in  the  steps  of  our  fathers 
from  the  very  beginning ;  even  at  the  very  first  these  forms 
were  held  to  be  essential.'     So  when  the  husk   cracks,  and 


PREFACE. 


would  fain  fall  to  pieces  by  the  natural  swelling  of  the  seed 
within,  a  foolish  zeal  labors  to  hold  it  together :  they  who 
would  deliver  the  seed,  are  taxed  with  longing  to  destroy  it; 
they  who  are  smothering  it,  pretend  that  they  are  treading  in 
the  good  old  ways,  and  that  the  husk  was,  is,  and  ever  will  be 
esssential.  And  this  happens  because  men  regard  the  form 
and  not  the  substance  ;  because  they  think  that  to  echo  the  lan- 
guage of  their  forefathers  is  to  be  the  faithful  imitators  of  their 
spirit ;  because  they  are  blind  to  the  lessons  which  all  nature 
teaches  them,  and  would  for  ever  keep  the  egg-shell  unbro- 
ken, and  the  sheath  of  the  leaf  unburst,  not  seeing  that  the  wis- 
dom of  winter  is  the  folly  of  spring." — pp.  119-121. 

We  may  therefore  lay  it  down  as  a  sure  criterion  of  the 
scripturality  and  purity  of  any  church,  that  while  it  is  found 
contending  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints, 
and  for  all  the  essential  principles  of  ecclesiastical  law,  as  far 
as  they  can  be  clearly  discovered  in  the  heavenly  institutes, 
it  is  at  the  same  time  willing  to  receive  and  treat  as  brethren, 
those  that  "  are  otherwise  minded  "  on  matters  pertaining  to  the 
outward  form  and  order  of  the  church,  and  the  minute  arrange- 
ments of  ecclesiastical  order. 

Such  assuredly  has  been,  and  ought  to  be  the  character 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Such  it  was  under  apostolic 
regimen  ;  in  its  primitive  development ;  in  its  continued  exist- 
ence in  the  Vaudois  and  Culdee  churches ;  and  in  its  period 
of  glorious  reformation.  The  views  of  Calvin  and  other  re- 
formers we  have  presented  elsewhere.  We  cannot,  however, 
resist  a  quotation  from  the  letter  of  CEcolampadius,  to  the 
pastors  of  Soleure  :  "  You  will  consider,"  he  says,  "  the  cer- 
emonies to  be  used  in  the  Lord's  supper,  which  you  are  back- 
ward to  omit  and  cannot  omit  without  giving  great  offence. 


PREFACE.  Xi 

Some  it  seems  follow  the  order  of  Zuric,  some  of  Berne,  and 
some  that  which  we  have  adopted  at  Basle.  We  are  here  quite 
in  harmony  with  Zuric  and  Berne,  though  we  have  a  different 
ritual.  When  we  began  to  reform  the  churches,  we  consid- 
ered what  might  be  most  useful  to  a  weak  people,  without 
injury  to  the  truth  ;  what  the  feeble-minded  could  bear.  Our 
object  was  that,  though  in  these  respects  we  might  differ  from 
Zuric  or  Strasburg,  while  we  preserved  charity  towards  stran- 
gers we  might  maintain  uniformity  among  ourselves,  who 
were  of  the  same  state  and  under  the  same  government.  For 
the  papists  and  other  enemies  of  the  truth,  we  showed  no  re- 
spect. Thanks  be  to  God,  the  consequence  is  entire  harmo- 
ny among  the  (reformed)  clergy  of  Basle.  The  same  is  the 
case  at  Zuric  and  Berne  ;  no  inconvenience  follows  from  their 
little  variations  from  us.  Your  case  is  at  present  different ; 
but  nothing  can  be  more  advisable  than  that  you  should  en- 
deavor to  agree  upon  a  common  formulary  among  yourselves. 
Some  I  know  make  light  of  Zuingle,  and  some  of  CEcolampa- 
dius ;  we  however  ar^,  and  always  have  been  friends,  and  no 
one  gratifies  us  who  would  sow  discord  in  the  house  of  God 
under  pretence  of  honoring  either  of  us.  The  state  of  your 
affairs  does  not  admit  of  a  diversity  of  rites,  because  other 
sects  are  rising  up  among  you  :  so  that,  though  a  variation  of 
ceremonies  is  of  little  account  among  truly  spiritual  persons, 
yet  among  those  in  whom  charity  is  more  defective,  if  new 
and  singular  observances  are  introduced  instead  of  those  which 
commend  themselves  to  the  majority,  this  must  lead  to  conten- 
tions. We  have  no  wish  to  induce  you  to  adopt  our  ceremo- 
nial, or  that  of  Zuric,  or  that  of  Berne  ;  but  uniformity  among 
yourselves  is  very  important ;  and  if  this  be  in  conformity  with 
your  neighbors  it  will  tend   the  more  to  exclude  ostentation 


3m  PREFACE. 

and  silence  enemies.  Is  there  any  religion  in  a  gold  or  wood- 
en cup  ?  or  in  the  mystic  bread  being  administered  from  silver 
or  a  glass  dish  ?  Has  Christ  any  more  regard  for  those  who 
sit,  than  for  those  who  stand  or  kneel  ?  Does  he  obtain  less 
who  receives  the  sacrament  from  his  own  hand,  than  he  who 
takes  it  from  the  hand  of  another  person  ?  O  wretched  beings 
that  we  are,  that  in  calamitous  times  like  these,  when  the 
light  of  the  gospel  hath  so  clearly  shone  upon  us,  we  should 
be  so  in  bondage  to  elements,  and  forget  how  our  liberty  is 
to  be  used  to  the  edification  of  our  neighbors!"^ 

This  spirit,  in  contrast  with  that  of  the  Romanists  and  Pre- 
latists,  who  like  the  ancient  Pharisees  are  most  severely  strict 
in  enforcing  uniformity  in  all  the  lesser  matters,  (the  tithing 
of  mint  and  anise  and  cummin,  while  they  overlook  the 
weightier  matters  of  the  law,  judgment,  mercy  and  faith,)  has 
ever  been  the  spirit  of  Presbyterianism.  In  further  proof  of 
this,  we  will  only  mention  that  as  early  as  the  year  1 690,  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  "  authorized  the 
moderator  to  declare  in  their  names,  that  they  would  depose 
no  incumbents  simply  for  their  judgment  about  the  government 
of  the  church  ;"^  and  that  on  this  very  subject  of  Ruling  Elders, 
the  French  Reformed  church  left  all  its  particular  churches 
to  act  as  they  thought  best  and  most  accordant  to  the  word 
of  God. 

We  do  not  hesitate,  therefore,  to  say  that  there  have  been, 
are,  and  will  be  points  of  order,  discipline,  and  law,  about 
which  differences  of  sentiment  cannot  but  exist ;  and  the  at- 
tempt to  coerce  opinion,  or  to  make  brethren  offenders  for  a 

*  See  in  Scott's  Contin.  of  Milner,  vol.  ii. 

*  Stewart's  Collections,  B.  I.  §  30. 


PREFACE. 


word,  or  to  magnify  such  matters  into  points  of  fundamental 
importance,  or  on  their  account  to  stir  up  controversy,  discord 
and  jealousy,  we  cannot  but  regard  as  equally  unchristian 
and  unpresbyterian. 

Believing  therefore  these  things,  we  have  not  hesitated 
to  give  our  opinions  freely  and  fully  on  the  question  of  the 
Eldership.  This  we  believe  to  be  one  of  the  subjects  on 
which  we  may  attain  to  unity,  but  not  to  uniformity  of  views ; 
and  the  very  admission,  that  while  maintaining  the  office  in 
some  essential  form,  minor  differences  would  be  left  to  the 
determination  of  particular  presbyteries  or  churches,  would  at 
once  hush  all  sounds  of "  strife  among  brethren,"  and  lead 
us  "  whereto  we  have  attained  to  mind  the  same  thing."  The 
spirit  that  would  enforce  uniformity,  is  the  very  spirit  of  in- 
tolerance and  spiritual  despotism,  and  therefore  is  the  rule 
laid  down  by  Augustine,  as  necessary  to  be  remembered  now 
as  in  his  day  :  ''  In  things  essential,  unity  ;  in  things  not  essen- 
tial, liberty  ;  and  in  all  things,  charity." 

For  any  peculiar  opinions,  therefore,  presented  in  this 
work,  not  at  present  general  in  our  church,  we  offer  in  con- 
clusion, the  apology  given  by  the  learned  Vitringa^  for  simi- 
lar views:  '' Non  culpo  itaque  nos  Presbyteros  Laicos  ;  quin 
agnosco  eos  et  probo  ut  qui  maxime.  Ne  peccem  tamen  in 
leges  Fraternltatis  cujus  partem  facio  si  rotunde  enunciem,  ejus- 
modi  me  Presbyteros  nullos  reperire  in  Ecclesia  apostolica  pri- 
mi  temporis,  nullos  etiam  in  Ecclesia  temporum  sequentium 
nullos  in  Scrlptis  apostolorum  aut  monumentis  sequentium 
aitatum  quantum  ilia  seu  a  me  seu  ab  aliis  perlustrata  sunt. 
Haec  opinio  sane  mihi  ita  diu  sedit  ut  in  ea  procedente  tem- 
pore plenisslme  sim  confirmatus  et  ut  vitio  mihi  non  repu- 
tem  quod  earn   liberrime  evulgem,  etsi  non  aeque    consonam 


PREFACE. 


commutai  Ecclesiarum  nostrarum  sententice.  Cum  enim  haec 
quaestio  inter  artlculos  fidei  nostras  levissimi  sit  momenii, 
quain  proinde  cuique  liberum  est  modeste  et  reverenter  ven- 
lilare  et  Veritas  mihi  at  altera  parte  admodum  aperte  blandi- 
atur,  nullus  aequi  et  veri  studiosus  mihi  invidebit,  opinor 
libertatem  defendendi  sententiam,  quam  nulla  alia  ratio  aut 
prsesumptio  praeter  vim  veritatis  me  coegit  amplecti.' 

»  De  Vet.  Synag.  p.  484. 


THE  NAME 


NATURE,  AND  FUNCTIONS 


OP 


RULING  ELDERS. 


THE  NAME,  NATURE,  AND  FUNCTIONS 


OF 


RULING  ELDERS 


CHAPTER    I. 

The  nature,  end,  and  object  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  its  officers  and  ordinances, 
with  a  general  review  of  the  origin,  title,  and  history  of  the  office  of  Ruling 
Elder.^ 

We  will  introduce  the  subject  by  quoting  the  words  of  the 
Apostle  in  his  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  4  :  8-16  :  "  Wherefore  he 
saith,  When  he  ascended  up  on  high,  he  led  captivity  captive,  and 
gave  gifts  unto  men.  Now  that  he  ascended,  what  is  it  but  that 
he  also  descended  first  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth  1  He  that 
descended  is  the  same  also  that  ascended  up  far  above  all  heavens, 
that  he  might  fill  all  things.  And  he  gave  some,  apostles ;  and 
some,  prophets ;  and  some,  evangelists ;  and  some,  pastors  and 
teachers;  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  minis- 
try, for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ :  till  we  all  come  in  the 
unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto 
a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of 
Christ :  that  we  henceforth  be  no  more  children,  tossed  to  and 
fro,  and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight 
of  men,  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to 
deceive  :  but  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  may  grow  up  unto  him 
in  all  things,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ :  from  whom  the 
whole  body  fitly  joined  together  and  compacted  by  that  which 
every  joint  supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 

^  N.  B.— This  chapter  formed  the  substance  of  two  Discourses  with  Ad- 
dresses to  the  Elders  and  the  People,  on  the  occasion  alluded  to  in  the  Dedi- 
cation. 

Q 


2  OF    THE    CilUilCH    OF    CHRIST, 

measure  of  every  part,   maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto  the 
edifying  of  itself  in  love." 

In  this  passage  of  holy  Scripture,  we  have  a  delineation  of 
the  polity  and  design  of  the  church.  The  object  of  Christ's  as- 
cension was  twofold.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  the  consummation 
and  the  triumph  of  his  incarnate  mystery.  He  had  come  down  from 
heaven,  and  dwelt  in  this  earth  of  ours  :  yea,  and  submitted,  for  a 
time,  to  lie  in  its  caverns,  under  the  power  of  death,  that  by  this 
humiliation,  abasement,  and  suffering  in  the  room  of  sinners,  he 
might  purchase  eternal  redemption  for  those  who  had  been  hope- 
lessly enslaved  by  sin,  Satan,  the  world,  and  death.  These  ene- 
mies Christ  had  vanquished  on  the  cross,  and  put  them  to  an 
open  shame  :  and  now,  as  a  triumphant  conqueror,  he  returned 
to  his  Father,  ascending  beyond  the  regions  of  the  air  into  the 
highest  heavens — "  going  up,"  as  the  Psalmist  elsewhere  expresses 
it,  "  with  a  shout,  and  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet" — leading  in 
his  train,  and  dragging,  as  it  were,  at  his  chariot  wheels,  those 
conquerors  and  oppressors  who  had  enslaved  his  people  ;  entering 
the  heavenly  gates  with  the  acclamations  of  all  the  celestial  hier- 
archy ;  and  sitting  on  a  throne  of  glory  that  he  might  fill  all 
things  with  his  influence,  and  direct  and  overrule  all  things  by 
his  wisdom  and  power.  And  as  conquerors  were  accustomed  to 
give  largesses  to  their  soldiers,  so  did  the  ascended  Saviour 
pour  down  his  royal  donatives  upon  his  faithful  subjects — yea, 
gifts  in  which  they  even  who  had  been  long  rebellious,  were 
also  to  share. 

Having,  therefore,  laid  the  foundation  of  his  church,  in  his 
complete  and  finished  work  of  righteousness,  and  endowed  it 
with  its  charter  in  his  final  commision,  Christ  now  shed  down  a 
rich  variety  of  gifts  and  graces  from  his  triumphal  seat  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father,  to  qualify  and  endow  his  servants  for 
those  various  offices  which  he  has  wisely  and  graciously  instituted 
for  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom  and  glory  upon  the  earth. 
For  this  purpose,  he  appointed  extraordinary  officers,  endowed 
with  the  gifts  of  tongues,  of  miracles,  and  of  inspiration,  to  oro-an- 
ize,  construct,  and  legislate  for  his  infimt  church.  The  office 
of  such  supernaturally  qualified  men  was  personal,  and  terminat- 
ed with  its  first  incumbents,  whose  writings  and  example  per- 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  3 

petuate  and  extend  their  injluence  and  autliority  to  the  remotest 
generations.  But  besides  those  who  were  thus  extraordinary  and 
adapted  to  the  emergency  of  a  new  and  rising  commonwealth, 
Christ  also  provided  for  the  settled  and  continued  order  and 
polity  of  his  churches,  by  instituting  the  ofiice  of  pastors  and 
teachers,  who  are  more  technically  called  bishops  or  presbyters, 
whose  duty  it  should  be  to  preside  in  the  several  congregations 
of  his  people  ;  to  take  the  oversight  of  them  in  the  Lord  ;  and 
to  instruct  them  out  of  his  word,  teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatever  he  had  commanded,  either  while  personally  on 
earth  or  by  the  mouth  of  these  inspired  apostles  and  prophets. 
To  these  officers,  and  to  the  body  of  his  people,  Christ  gave  the 
power,  and  assigned  the  duty  of  carrying  out  the  purposes  of 
his  redeeming  love;  gathering  congregations,  celebrating  his  or- 
dinances, obeying  all  his  laws,  and  perpetuating  his  church  to 
the  end  of  the  world.  And  as,  in  accordance  with  the  great  fun- 
damental principle  of  representation,  which  lies  at  the  foundation 
of  all  society,  natural,  social,  and  moral,  it  was  found  that  the 
interests  of  the  church  would  be  promoted  by  a  delegation  of 
power  to  a  few  who  should  act  for,  and  in  the  name  of  the  body, 
and  be  responsible  to  them,  we  find  that  very  early  in  the  history 
of  the  apostolic  churches,  officers  were  appointed  and  repre- 
sentatives chosen  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  brethren,  and  to 
consult,  deliberate,  rule  and  act,  in  their  name.  Of  this  class  were 
the  Deacons,  to  whom  properly  belongs  the  oversight  and  control 
of  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  church,  and  the  appropriation  of 
its  funds  to  the  relief  of  the  poor  ;  not,  however,  in  independence 
of  the  other  officers,  but  in  connexion  with  ihem.  For,  as  all 
the  higher  officers  include  the  lower,  so  "  the  deacons'  court"  in- 
cluded the  minister  and  elders,  before  whom  every  point  requiring 
consultation  was  to  be  brought,  the  carrying  out  of  all  such  finan- 
cial arrangements  alone  constituting  the  peculiar  work  and  duty 
of  the  Deacons.'     Besides  the  deacons  it  would  appear  that  other 

*  The  following  is  the  arrangement  adopted  by  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land : 

The  duties  of  Elders,  as  laid  down  hy  the  General  Assembly. 
Respecting  the  peculiar  duties  of  elders: — 


BRETHREN  Were  chosen  to  represent  the  people  in  all  the  coun- 
cils of  the  church,  and  to  form  with  the  bishop  or  presbyter  a 
standing  court,  in   connexion  with  each  congregation  charged 

1.  That  they  sit  in  session  along  with  the  minister,  and  assist  in  the 
administration  of  discipline,  and  in  the  spiritual  government  of  the  church. 

2.  That  they  take  a  careful  oversight  of  the  people's  morals  and  religious 
principles,  of  the  attendance  upon  public  ordinances,  and  of  the  state  of  personal 
and  family  reUgion. 

3.  That  they  visit  the  sick  from  time  to  time  in  their  several  districts. 

4.  That  they  superintend  the  religious  instruction  of  the  young,  and  assist 
the  minister  in  ascertaining  the  qualifications  of  applicants  for  admission  to 
sealing  ordinances. 

5.  That  they  superintend  and  promote  the  formation  of  meetings  within 
their  districts,  for  prayer,  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  Christian  fellowship, 
among  the  members  of  the   church. 

The  duties  of  Deacons. 
Respecting  the  peculiar  duties  of  deacons  : — 

1.  That  they  give  special  regard  to  the  whole  secular  affairs  of  the  con- 
gregation. 

2.  That  they  attend  to  the  gathering  of  the  people's  contributions  to  the 
general  fund  for  the  sustentation  of  the  ministry  ;  and  that  they  receive  the 
donations  which  may  be  made  for  other  ecclesiastical  purposes. 

3.  That  they  attend  to  the  congregational  poor. 

4.  That  they  watch  over  the  education  of  the  children  of  the  poor. 

Elders  and  Deacons. 
Respecting  the  duties  which  are  common  to  elders  and  deacons : — 

1.  That  both  elders  and  deacons  may  receive  the  Sabbath  collections  of 
the  people,  according  to  such  arrangements  as  shall  be  made  by  the  deacons' 
court. 

2.  That,  for  the  better  discharge  of  their  peculiar  duties  respectively,  as 
well  as  with  a  view  to  increased  opportunities  of  doing  good,  both  elders  and 
deacons  visit  periodically  the  districts  assigned  to  them,  and  cultivate  an  ac- 
quaintance with  the  members  of  the  church  residing  therein. 

3.  That  it  is  competent  for  elders  to  be  employed  as  deacons,  when  a 
sufficient  number  of  deacons  cannot  be  had. 

4.  That  deacons  may  assist  the  elders  with  their  advice,  whether  in  session 
or  otherwise,  when  requested  so  to  do. 

The  Deacons'  Court. 

Respecting  the  meeting  of  minister,  elders  and  deacons,  for  secular  affairs  ; 
which  meeting  may  be  called  the  Deacons'  Court: — 

1.  That  the  minister  preside  in  said  meeting,  when  he  is  present; 
and,  in  his  absence,  any  elder  or  deacon  whom  the  meeting  may  fi.x  upon. 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  5 

with  maintaining  the  spiritual  government  of  the  church  :  for 
which  purpose,  according  to  our  standards,  they  had  power  to 
inquire  into  the  knowledge  and  Christian  conduct  of  the  mem- 

2.  That  the  said  meeting,  or  deacons'  court,  is  convened  by  citation  from 
the  pulpit,  or  by  personal  notice  to  the  members  thereof,  and  is  called  by 
authority  of  the  minister,  or  at  the  requisition  of  any  three  members, — said 
requisition  being  addressed  to  the  minister,  or,  in  time  of  a  vacancy  of  the 
pastoral  charge,  to  the  clerk  of  the  said  court ;  and  the  proceedings  are  opened 
and  closed  with  prayer. 

3.  That  this  court  has  the  management  and  charge  of  the  whole  property 
belonging  to  the  congregation,  including  church,  session-house,  manse,  school- 
buildings,  &c.,  and  of  all  its  secular  affairs, — including,  of  course,  the  appropri- 
ation of  seats,  with  the  determination  of  all  questions  relating  thereto.  And 
it  is  the  province  and  duty  of  said  court  to  transmit,  from  time  to  time,  to  the 
treasurer  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly,  or  their  committee,  the  funds  raised 
for  the  general  sustentation  of  the  ministry  ;  also,  to  apply  the  remaining  congre- 
gational funds,  in  fitting  proportions,  to  the  support  of  the  ministry, the  payment  of 
the  salaries  of  the  various  subordinate  functionaries,  and  the  defraying  of  all  neces- 
sary charges  connected  with  the  property,  or  with  the  dispensation  of  Christian  or- 
dinances ;  to  apply, moreover,  any  surplus  which  may  thereafter  arise,  to  religious, 
ecclesiastical,  educational,  or  benevolent  objects  ;  likewise  to  make  special  collec- 
tions at  the  church-door,  as  often  as  may  appear  to  them  to  be  necessary,  for  the 
temporal  relief  of  poor  members  of  the  congregation,  and  for  the  education  of 
the  children  of  the  poor ;  and,  finally,  to  receive  the  deacons'  reports  of  their 
proceedings,  to  give  them  such  advice  and  instruction  as  may  be  required, 
and  to  decide  as  to  the  payments  made  by  them  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  and 
the  education  of  youth.     - 

4.  That  while  the  church  is  solely  at  the  disposition  of  the  minister  for  all 
religious  purposes,  the  consent  of  the  deacons'  court,  as  well  as  of  the  minister, 
is  necessary,  before  any  meeting,  not  strictly  of  a  religious,  ecclesiastical,  or 
charitable  nature,  can  be  held  in  it. 

5.  That  the  said  court  shall  have  one  or  more  treasurers  and  a  clerk,  and 
a  separate  record  for  the  minutes  of  its  proceedings. 

6.  That  the  record  of  the  court,  with  the  treasurer's  account  of  receipt  and 
expenditure,  after  said  account  shall  have  been  duly  audited  by  appointment  of 
the  court,  shall  be  annually  exhibited  to  the  presbytery  of  the  bounds,  at  the 
first  ordinary  meeting  thereof  after  the  15th  of  March,  for  the  purpose  of  being 
examined  and  attested  by  the  presbytery  at  said  meeting. 

7.  That  on  the  first  Monday  after  said  attestation  of  the  record  and  trea- 
surer's account,  or  on  some  convenient  day  of  the  first  or  second  week  following 
the  attestation  by  the  presbytery,  a  congregational  meeting  shall  be  held,  when 
the  deacons'  court  shall  present  a  report  of  its  proceedings  for  the  preceding 
year,  give  such  information  and  explanations  as  may  be  asked  for,  and  receive 
any  suggestions  which  may  be  offered  by  the  members  of  the  congregation  for 


6  OP    THE    CHURCH    OF    CHRIST, 

bers  of  the  church  ;  to  call  before  them  offenders  and  witnesses, 
being  members  of  their  own  congregation,  and  to  introduce  other 
witnesses,  where  it  may  be  necessary  to  bring  the  process  to  issue, 
and  when  they  can  be  procured  to  attend  :  to  admonish,  to  re- 
buke, to  suspend,  or  exclude  from  the  sacraments  those  who  are 
found  to  deserve  censure ;  to  concert  the  best  measures  for  pro- 
moting the  spiritual  interests  of  the  congregation  ;  and  to  appoint 
delegates  to  the  higher  judicatories  of  the  church. 

Dr.  Hinds,  who  is  chaplain  to  the  archbishop  of  Dublin,  in 
his  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  Christianity,  says — 
"  When,  therefore,  we  read  that  a  decree  was  made  by  the  apos- 
tles, presbyters,  and  the  whole  church,  one  of  two  things  must 
be  supposed  to  have  taken  place  :  either  the  presbyters  took 
each  the  sense  of  his  own  congregation,  or  the  presbyters  and 
other  official  persons,  it  may  be,  met  as  the  representatives,  each 
of  his  own  congregation,  and  all  of  the  church  collectively. 
The  former  supposition  is  certainly  encumbered  with  more  and 
greater  difficulties  than  the  latter.  The  subject  proposed  at 
these  Christian  meetings,  seems,  from  the  tenor  of  the  narrative 
throughout,  to  have  been  first  presented  to  the  church  in  any 
shape  ;  and  the  decisions  took  place  before  the  meeting  was 
dissolved.  There  are  no  marks  of  any  previous  notice  of  the 
matter  to  be  discussed,  so  as  to  enable  the  several  presbyters  to 
consult  the  opinions  and  wishes  of  their  constituents;  and  the 
decision  took  place  without  any  interval  to  allow  of  an  after 
consultation.  Against  the  remaining  supposition,  namely,  that 
the  presbyters  and  other  official  persons,  perhaps,  met  as  the  ple- 
nipotentiaries, each  of  his  own  body,  the  strongest  obstacle  lies 
in  the  phrase,  *  It  seemed  good  to  the  presbyters  with  the 
whole  church.'  Now  this  expression,  after  all,  may  imply  no 
more  than  that  it  seemed  good  to  the  presbyters,  and  whatever 
other  members  of  the  council  in  conjunction  with  them,  may  be 
called  the  whole  church,  beca  use  appointed  to  represent  it.'" 

the  consideration  of  the  court,  with  reference  to  the  future  distribution  of  the 
funds.  The  congregational  meeting  shall  be  convened  by  intimation  from  the 
pulpit,  and  the  minister,  if  present,  shall  preside  in  it. 

8.  That  to  the  said  court  shall  belong  the  appointment  and  dismissal  of 
the  church-officer  and  door-keepers. — See  note  A. 

^  Volume  l,page  349,  and  see  pages  317,  348.  See  also  similar  opinions  in 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OP   RULING    ELDER.  7 

But  while  we  believe  that  such  officers  are  to  be  found  in 
**  the  brethren"  who  sat  in  the  council  at  Jerusalem,  in  "the  helps 
and  governments"  elsewhere  alluded  to ;  and  in  "the  church" 
before  which  offences  were  to  be  brought^ ;  we  are  strong  in  the 
belief  that  they  are  never  once  spoken  of  under  the  term  pres- 
byter or  elder,  which  always  refers  to  the  teacher  or  bishop  solely  ; 
and  that  the  primitive  churches  were  left  at  liberty  to  carry  on 
the  business  of  the  church,  either  with  or  without  such  repre- 
sentatives, just  as  might  be  found  most  expedient,  and  most  pro- 
motive of  their  peace,  purity  and  harmony.  For  in  no  other  way 
can  we  account  for  the  fact  that  nowhere  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment are  these  representatives  enumerated  as  a  distinct  class  of 
officers,  as  are  the  deacons  and  the  bishops  :  that  nowhere  do 
we  find  distinct  qualifications  laid  down  for  such  officers,  as  we 
do  for  the  bishop  or  presbyter,  and  for  the  deacons  and  deacon- 
esses;^ and  the  fact  also  that  it  is  beyond  controversy  that  down 
to  a  late  period,  some,  at  least,  of  the  largest  churches  continued 
to  carry  on  the  business  of  the  congregation  in  their  general  and 

reference  to  the  delegated  character  of  "  the  brethren "  in  this  Council,  by- 
Bishop  Jewell,  Def.  of  Apol.  Part  1,  p.  41  :  by  Whitaker  De  Concil,  Qua3st. 
3,  cap.  3  ;  in  Jameson's  Cyprianus  Isotimus,  pp.542,  543.  See  also  Bucer  De 
Gubern,  Eccl.  p.  84,  in  ibid.  p.  555.  Barnard's  Synagogue  and  the  Church,  p.  258. 

Blondel  judges,  that  'tis  most  probable,  that,  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles, 
not  the  whole  multitude,  but  only  their  seniors  used  to  convene  for  choosino-  of 
their  Deacons"or  such  affairs.  (De  Jure  Plebis,  Francfort,  1690,  p.  262,  quoted 
in  the  original  in  Jameson's  Cypr.  Isot.  p.  542.) 

"  I  can't,  indeed,"  says  Professor  Jameson,  "  during  the  first  three  centuries, 
find  express  mention  of  these  seniors  or  ruling  elders  ;  for  I  freely  pass  from 
some  words  of  Tertullian  and  Origen  which  I  elsewhere  overly  mentioned  as 
containing  them  ;  as  also  from  what  I  said  of  the  Ignatian  Presbyters,  their 
being  Ruling  or  non-preaching  Elders,  and  that  without  giving  of  much  advantage 
to  the  Diocesanists,  since  in  and  about  the  Cyprian  age,  in  which  time,  as  I  judge, 
the  author  or  interpolator  wrote,  there  were  belonging  to  the  same  church,  parish, 
or  congregation,  divers  Presbyters,  who  preached  little,  if  any  ;  and  yet  had 
power  to  dispense  the  word  and  sacraments."  (Do.  p.  544.)  See  further 
proofs  in  Clarkson's  Primitive  Episcopacy,  pp.  92,  100,  104,  105.  Burn's 
Eccl.  Law  on  Church  Wardens  and  Visitation.  Many  eminent  Presbyterian 
writers  are  of  opinion  that  Ruling  Elders  are  not  of  divine  right,  but  as  they 
act  for  and  represent  the  people.     (See  Biblical  Repertory,  1832,  p.  28.) 

1  Matt.  18.  15-18. 

^  See  the  Biblical  Repertory,  April,  1843,  page  327. 


8  OF    THE    CHURCH    OF    CHRIST, 

democratic    form.'        Experience,  however,    proved,  as   it   still 
proves  in  Congregational  churches,  the  inexpediency  and  danger 

^  As  to  the  actual  practice  of  the  primitive  churches,  the  following,  out  of 
innumerable  proofs,  may  suffice.  In  the  times  succeeding  the  Apostolic,  the 
people  were  always  consulted  in  the  selection  of  ministers.  First,  with  respect 
to  Bishops ;  Cyprian,  in  his  letter  to  Antonianus,  writes  thus  in  reference  to 
the  election  of  Cornelius,  Bishop  of  Rome :  "  For  that  which  commends  our 
most  beloved  Cornelius  to  God,  and  to  Christ,  and  to  his  Church,  and  to  all 
his  brethren,  in  the  Priesthood,  is,  that  he  did  not  come  to  his  Bishopric  sud- 
denly, but  he  passed  through  all  the  different  orders  of  the  Church,  and  he  was 
made  Bishop  by  very  many  of  our  Colleges  who  were  then  at  Rome,  who  sent, 
to  us,  in  reference  to  his  ordination,  the  highest  testimonials  in  his  praise.  He 
was  made  their  Bishop  by  the  will  of  God  and  of  his  Christ,  by  the  testimony  of 
almost  all  the  Clergy,  by  the  suffrages  of  the  people  who  were  then  present." 
We  learn  from  this  passage  that  Cornelius  was  elected  to  his  Bishopric  by  the 
Bishops,  but  that  his  election  was  confirmed  by  the  suffrages  of  the  people. 
In  another  Epistle  he  says :  The  ordination  of  Priests  ought  not  to  take  place, 
but  with  the  approval  of  the  people  :  that  by  their  presence  either  the  crimes 
of  bad  men  may  be  detected,  or  the  merits  of  good  men  proclaimed  ;  and 
let  that  be  a  just  and  legitimate  ordination,  which  shall  have  been  determined 
on  by  the  suffrages  and  judgment  of  all.  Eusebius  gives  j^similar  testimony  ; 
speaking  of  the  election  of  Fabian,  Bishop  of  Rome,  he  says,  "  That  all  the 
people  who  had  assembled  at  the  election  cried  out  that  he  was  worthy."  In 
a  letter  from  a  Council  held  at  Nice,  to  the  Church  at  Alexandria,  it  is  en- 
joined, "  That  no  one  be  chosen  into  the  room  of  any  Bishop  deceased,  unless 
he  appear  worthy,  and  the  people  elect  him  ;  the  bishop  of  the  city  of  Alex- 
andria giving  his  approval  and  confirming  the  judgment  of  the  people." 

With  respect  to  the  appointment  of  Presbyters,  &-c.,  though  the  consent  of 
the  people  was  not  absolutely  necessary,  yet  no  Bishop  of  good  repute  would 
appoint  one,  contrary  to  the  expressed  wish  of  the  people.  "  In  ordaining 
Clergymen,  beloved  brethren,  we  are  accustomed  first  to  consult  you,  and  to 
consider  with  you  the  merits  and  deserts  of  each."  See  quoted  in  Vitringa  De  Vet. 
Synag.  lib.  ii.  cap.  vi.  of  Bernard's  Synag.  pp.  170-172.  See  the  most  ample  proofs 
on  this  subject  in  "  Coleman's  Primitive  Church "  recently  printed  in  this 
country.  See  chapter  IV.  on  the  elections  by  the  Church,  in  which  he  shows 
that  suffrage  was  enjoyed  by  the  primitive  churches,  and  when  this  was  with- 
drawn, p.  54,  &LC.  In  chapter  V.  he  shows  how  far  discipline  was  exercised 
by  the  people.  The  epistles  of  all  the  apostolical  fathers  are  addressed  to  the 
churches  at  large,  and  imply  that  the  members  or  their  delegates  had  the  power 
of  judging  in  all  cases.  See  page  96,  &c.  See  also  evidence  from  Tertullian  and 
others ;  page  99,  104,  &.c.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  the  ablest  historians, 
Valencis,  Du  Pin,  Simonis,  Mosheim,  Guerike,  Neander,  &.c.  '*  Thus  is  it 
proved,"  says  Mr  Coleman,  "  that  the  church  continued  for  two  or  three  cen- 
turies, to  regulate  her  own   discipline  by  the  will  of  the  majority,  expressed 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  9 

of  such  a  course  ,  its  impotency  and  inefficiency  on  the  one  hand, 
and  on  the  other  hand  its  tendency  to  produce  parties,  schisms 
and  disturbances,  and  even  tumults  and  open  ruptures  in  the 
church.^  We  find,  therefore,  in  after  times,  a  general,  if  not 
universal  adoption  of  the  principle  of  representation,  and  the 
government  of  the  churches  through  officers  chosen  from  time 
to  time  by  the  members  of  the  church,  and  variously  called 
seniors  of  the  people,  sidesmen  or  assistants,  wardens,  eldermen, 
and  elders,  ancients  and  rectors,  the  name  betokeninor  not  the 
age  of  these  officers,  but  their  character,  gravity,  and  established 
reputation,  as  wise  and  pious  men.  In  the  progress  of  that 
great  apostacy,  which  for  ultimate  purposes  of  good  has  been 
permitted  to  come  upon  the  church,  prelates  were  introduced  in 
conformity  with  the  high  priests  of  the  hierarchy  of  pagan 
Rome;^  the  simple  order  of  bishops  or  presbyters  was  multiplied 
into  the  numerous  and  paganized  orders  now  found  in  the  Greek 
and  Roman  churches ;  the  name  and  rights  of  God's  "  clergy," 
that  is,  his  chosen  people,  (see  1  Peter  2 :  9,)  and  of  his  true 
ministers,  were  monopolized  by  these  prelatical  despots,  who 
constituted  themselves  into  a  hierarchy,  and  excluded  the  laity 
and  the  inferior  clergy^  as  the  Lord's  freemen  and  ambassadors 
were  ignominiously  called,  from  all  right,  title,  and  authority, 
whatsoever,  in  that  heavenly  commonwealth  of  which  Christ  had 
constituted  them  citizens,  yea  even  priests  and  kings  unto  God. ^ 

The  Reformation,  by  the  great  grace  and  mercy  of  Him 
either  by  popular  vote,  or  by  a  representative  delegation  chosen  by  them." 
p.  95.  The  Synods  also  or  Councils  at  first  clearly  considered  themselves  as 
representative  bodies,  delegated  by  the  whole  church.  "  Ipsa  representatis 
totius  nominis  Christiani,"  says  Tertullian,  De  Jejun,  c.  13,  p.  552.  See  Mo- 
sheim  De  Rebus  Christ.  Sect.  II.  §  23,  and  Coleman,  p.  115.  See  also  Note 
B,  end. 

^  See  note  C. 

^  See  plain  and  palpable  proof  of  this  given  in  a  work  on  "  The  Conformity 
between  Modern  and  Ancient  Ceremonies,  wherein  is  proved,  by  incontestible 
authorities,  that  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  Rome  are  entirely  derived 
from  the  heathen,  by  Pierre  Mussard,  Pastor  of  the  French  or  Huguenot  Church 
at  Lyons.  London,  1745,  chap.  ii.  and  iii."  This  part  of  the  parallel  is,  for 
very  obvious  reasons,  omitted  in  the  recently  reprinted  work  by  Stopford,  "  Pa- 
gano  Papismus,"  which  is,  like  Middleton's  Letter  from  Rome,  a  substantial 
reprint  of  this  volume. 

'  See  the  author's  work  on  Presbytery'  and  Prelacy,  chap.  xiv.  p.  295,  &c. 

2* 


10  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST, 

whose  glorious  work  it  was,  restored  to  the  Christian  people 
their  birth-right,  and  to  the  bishops  or  presbyters, — the  true  and 
only  ministers  of  Christ, — their  standing  in  the  regenerated 
church  ;  and  again  committed  to  their  hands  the  oracles  of  God, 
the  doctrines  of  grace,  the  administration  of  discipline,  and  the 
general  oversight  of  the  church.  And  we  find  that  just  as  there 
was  then  a  heaven-guided  unanimity  in  their  confession  of  all 
the  leading  doctrines  the  gospel,  by  all  the  Reformed  churches, 
— so  was  there  also  the  same  marvellous  and  supernatural  con- 
currence in  the  belief  that  there  is  but  one  order  of  ministers  in 
Christ's  church,  and  that  it  of  right  belongs  to  Christ's  people, 
— and  not  to  any  despotic  or  Erastian  hierarchy — to  govern  and 
direct  her  affairs  in  conformity  to  the  order,  polity,  and  laws  laid 
down  in  Christ's  written  and  infallible  word.'  Wherever, 
therefore,  the  civil  power  did  not  interfere,  as  it  did  in  England, 
to  coerce  and  restrain  the  free  action  of  God's  disenthralled  peo- 
ple, we  find  that  they  settled  down  into  that  form  of  polity  which 
is  still  perpetuated  in  non-Episcopal  churches.  Besides  bishops 
or  presbyters,  who  came  to  be  called  ministers  and  pastors,  in 
order  to  distinguish  them  from  those  who  had  prostituted  the 
scriptural  title  of  bishop  to  the  designation  of  the  man-made 
order  of  prelates,  and  who  had  associated  this  name  with  every 

'  That  such  was  very  strongly  the  opinion  of  the  Reformed  churches,  will 
appear  from  the  following  quotation  from  the  Smalcald  Articles : — "  Ubi  est 
igitur  vera  Ecclesia,  ibi  necesse  est  esse  jus  eligendi  et  ordinandi  Ministros  ; 
sicut  in  casu  necessitatis  absolvit  etiam  Laicus,  et  fit  Minister  ac  Pastor,  alte- 
rius:  sicut  narrat  Augustinus  historiam  de  duobus  Christianis  in  navi,  quorum 
alter  baptizaverit  Karr^xovixevov  et  is  baptizatus  deinde  absolvent  alterum.  Hue 
pertinent  sententiae  Christi,  quae  testantur,  claves  Ecclesise  datas  esse,  non  tan- 
turn  certis  personis.  (Matt.  18  :  20.)  Ubicunque  erunt  duo  vel  tres  congregati 
in  nomine  meo,  etc. 

"  Postremo  etiam  hoc  confirmat  sententia  Petri :  (1  Peter  2  :  9.)  Vos  estis 
regale  Sacerdotium.  Quae  verba  ad  veram  Ecclesiam  pertinent,  qute  cum  sola 
habeat  Sacerdotium,  certe  habeat  jus  eligendi  et  ordinandi  Ministros.  Idque 
etiam  communissima  Ecclesiai  consuetudo  testatur.  Nam  olim  populus  elige- 
bat  Pastores  et  Episcopos.  Deinde  accedebat  Episcopus,  seu  ejus  Ecclesise, 
seu  vicinus,  qui  confirmabat  electuni  impositionc  manuum,  nee  aliud  fuit  ordi- 
natio  nisi  talis  comprobatio."  (Hase's  Libri  Symbolici.  Leipsic,  1837,  vol.  1, 
p.  253.) 

See  also  many  authorities  given  in  the  author's  work  on  Presbytery  and  not 
Prelacy,  ch.  iii.  ^  3,  p.  74,  &c.,  where  the  subject  is  fully  treated. 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  11 

thing  cruel,  tyrannical  and  unholy,'  ihey  universally  agreed 
that  it  was  in  accordance  vvi'h  Scripture,  to  appoint  in  every 
congregation  some  representatives  of  the  people,  who  should 
be  associated  with  the  ministers  in  all  acts  of  religion  and  gov- 
ernment; that  is,  in  all  those  acts,  and  only  those,  in  which  the 
people  had  an  inherent  right  to  consult,  vote,  deliberate  and  act, 
in  conformity  with  the  original  commission  and  charter  of  the 
church.  And  as  Christ  had  instituted  an  order  of  men  for  the 
express  purpose  of  teaching,  administering  the  sacraments,  and 
ordaining  those  whom  the  church  should  approve,  to  the  same 
high  and  holy  ministry,  and  had,  therefore,  excluded  the  peo- 
ple from  any  ordinary  intrusion  into  those  offices,  they  also 
who  represented  the  people,  and  were  clothed  with  the  dele- 
gated rights  possessed  by  the  people,  were  necessarily  limited 
to  a  co-operation  with  the  bishops  of  the  churches  in  those  things 
that  pertained  to  order,  government  and  discipline.^ 

Such  assuredly  were  the  views  entertained  by  the  Reformers. 
While  they  all  agreed  as  to  the  expediency  and  propriety  of  such 
officers,  there  was  great  variety  in  the  names  by  which  ruling 
elders  were  called.  In  the  Belgic  confession  they  are  termed 
*'  seniors, "2  by  which  word  they  were  distinguished  in  the  enu- 
meration of  the  fathers  from  the  presbyters.  In  the  ecclesiastical 
laws  of  the  church  of  Geneva,  they  are  called  "  inspectors,"  and 
*'  seniors,"  and  "  commissioners  for  the  seniory"  or  consistory.^ 

"The  Waldenses,"  says  Bucer,  "besides  ministers  of  the 
word  and  sacraments,  have  a  certain  college  of  men,  excelling  in 
prudence  and  gravity  of  spirit,  whose  office  it  is  to  correct  and 
admonish  offending  brethren."^  These  are  called  "  rulers,  an- 
cients and  elders."       The  Syrian  churches,  which   have  existed 

^  See  Counsellor  Prynne's  Antipathic  of  the  English  Lordly  Prelacy,  Both 
to  Regal  Monarchy  and  to  Civil  Unity,  or  an  Hist.  Collection  of  the  Several 
execrable  Treasons,  Conspiracies,  Rebellions,  Seditions,  Oppressions,  &c.,  of 
our  English,  British,  French  and  Irish  Lordly  Prelates,  &c.  London,  2  vols, 
4to.  1641. 

See  Fonn  of  Government,  ch.  i,  §  2. 

3  Art.  31.     See  in  Niemeyer's  CoUectio  Conf.  in  Eccl.  Ref.  p.  382. 

*  See  this  fully  proved  hereafter. 

5  Quoted  by  Sir  S.  Moreland,  p;tge  60,  in  Plea  for  Presbytery,  page  347. 

*  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  507,  and  Plea  for  Presbytery,  p.  347,  &,c. 


13  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST, 

from  the  earliest  period,  called  them  "  representatives  of  the 
people."^  The  Bohemian  churches  called  them  "seniores  ec- 
clesise''^^  or  "  the  assistants,"  as  Comenius  terms  them. 

In  the  Book  of  Common  Order  of  the  English  church  at  Ge- 
neva, of  which  John  Knox  was  minister,  which  was  approved 
by  Calvin,  and  received  and  used  by  the  Reformed  church  of 
Scotland,  and  formerly  prefixed  to  the  psalms  in  metre,  they  are 
called  *' elders,"  the  words  being  evidently  a  translation  of  the 
term  "  seniores,"  and  not  of  the  Greek  term  presbyters,  and  cer- 
tainly not  of  that  passage  in  the  epistle  to  Timothy,  from  which 
they  have  now  come  to  be  generally  denominated  "  ruling 
elders."^  In  the  first  Book  of  Discipline  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, drawn  up  by  John  Knox  and  others  in  J560,  the  terms 
''elders"  and  "  seniors"  are  both  employed. ^  In  the  order  for 
the  election  of  elders,  found  in  Knox's  manuscript  history,  and 
published  in  1569,  they  are  are  called  "  eldaris  and  helparis."^ 
In  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
agreed  upon  in  1578,  ministers  are  called  "pastors,  Episcopi  or 
bishops,  or  ministers,"'^ — and  it  is  shown  to  be  their  peculiar 
function  to  teach,  to  administer  the  sacraments,  to  bless  the  peo- 
ple, to  pronounce  all  sentences  of  binding  or  loosing  "  after  law- 
ful proceeding  be  the  eldership,"^  for  it  adds,  "he  is  a  messen- 
ger and  herauld  betwixt  God  and  the  people,  (including  of  course 
in  this  term,  people,  the  elders  themselves,  who  merely  represent 
the  people  in  all  these  affairs)."  This  declaration  of  the  functions 
of  H  minister  must  certainly  include  "  laying  on  of  hands,"  since 
this  must  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  "  the  power  of  the  keyes 
grantid  unto  theKirk,"^  and  of  which  the  minister  is  declared  to 
be  the  messenger   and   herald.     In  this  work   elders   are  called 

^  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  421. 

'  See  do.  p.  52.0,  and  Plea,  &cc.,  p.  356. 

'^  See  Dunlop's  Confession  of  Faith,  vol.  2,  p.  408.  1  Tim.  5:  17,  is  never 
quoted  in  proof. 

*  Do.  do.  pp.  577,  578,  §  5,  p.  580,  §  8. 

^  Do.  do.  page  637. 

^  Dunlop's  Confession  of  Faith,  vol.  2,  p.  770. 

'  An  old  manuscript  has,  "  It  appertains  to  the  Minister  be  lawful  precon- 
cluding  with  the  Eldership."     Do.  do.  pp.  771,  772. 

'^  Do.  do. 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  13 

*'  seniors  or  elders,"^  "  sic  as  we  commonly  call  elders.'"^  "  In 
this  our  division,"  it  is  added,  "  we  call  these  elders  whom  the 
i^postles  called  presidents  or  governors,"  and  the  propriety  of 
having  a  Church  Session,  or  *'  particular  eldership,"  this  Book 
founds  upon  the  fact  that  "  this  we  gather  of  the  practice  of  the 
primitive  Kirk,  where  elders  or  colleges  of  seniors  were  consti- 
tute in  cities  and  famous  places."  "  It  appertains  to  elders,"  ac- 
cording to  this  Book,  among  other  things,  "  to  assist  the  pastor 
in  the  examination  of  them  that  comes  to  Lord's  table,"  but 
in  no  way  is  it  implied  that  they  should  interfere  with  the  pecu- 
liar function  of  the  ministry,  to  wit,  the  public  consummation  of 
all  such  proceedings  by  imposition  of  hands,  pronouncing  of  sen- 
tence, introduction  into  the  church  by  public  covenant,  &c. 
For  while  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  such  particular  elderships^ 
are  empowered  by  this  Book  to  "  excommunicate  the  obstinate," 
and  "  to  take  heed  that  the  word  of  God  be  purely  preached 
within  their  bounds,  the  sacraments  rightly  administered,  and 
even  "  deposition"  to  be  pronounced,  &c.,  no  one  will  pretend 
that  the  ruling  elders  were  to  preach,  administer  sacraments,  or 
pronounce  sentence  of  excommunication.  And  therefore,  when 
the  provincial  assembly  have  the  power  given  them  by  this  book 
to  examine  and  ordain  ministers,  it  cannot  be  pretended  that  the 
final  and  public  ministerial  act  of"  imposition  of  hands"  is  to  be 
performed  by  elders,  merely  because  it  appertains  to  them  to  as- 
sist the  ministers  in  all  the  preparatory  examinations  and  decis- 
ions necessary  to  such  final  ordination. 

In  the  Directory  "  Concerning  Church  Government,"  drawn 
up  by  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  adopted  by  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  and  still  in  force,  as  "  The  form  of  Presbyterial  Church 
Government,"  used  by  it  and  published  with  the  Confession  of 
Faith — in  this  work,  ruling  elders  are  never  so  called,  nor  is  their 
office  ever  founded  on  the  passage  where  these  words  occur  (i.  e. 
1  Tim  :  5,  17.     They  are  usually  entitled  throughout  this  work, 

1  Dunlop's  Confession  of  Faith,  vol.  2,  p.  774.  "  Sometimes,'"  it  is  said 
the  word  in  Scripture  is  taken  largely,  compchending  as  well  the  pastors  and 
doctors. 

^  Do.  page  776. 

^  See  do.  do.  pp.  779,  780. 


14  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST, 

"other  church  governors."^  These  *'  officers,"  it  is  said,  **  Re- 
formed churches  tom»«o«Zy  called  elders."^  The  early  English 
Puritans  held  that  "  by  God's  ordinance  every  congregation 
should  make  choice  of  other  officers  as  assistants  unto  the  minis- 
ter in  the  spiritual  regiment  of  the  congregation."^  Thus 
Cartwright  in  A.  D.  1590  calls  them  "  those  that  have  charge  of 
government  only."^  And,  not  lo  enlarge,  our  own  standards, 
while  they  adopt  the  common  title  of  **  ruling  elders"  yet  fully 
and  advisedly  define  and  characterize  these  officers  as  being 
"properly  the  representatives  of  the  people,  chosen  by  them  for 
the  purpose  of  exercising  government  and  discipline  in  conjunc- 
tion with  pastors  or  ministers.  This  office,"  it  is  added,  "  has 
been  understood  by  a  great  part  of  the  Protestant  Reformed 
churches  to  be  designated  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  by  the  title  of 
governments,  and  of  those  who  rule  well  but  do  not  labor  in 
word  and  doctrine." 

In  the  Genevan  church,  in  the  English  church  there,  and  in 
all  the  continental  churches,  the  office  was  temporary,  the  incum- 
bents being  elected  yearly  or  every  second  year.  Such  also  was 
the  doctrine  laid  down  in  the  first  Book  of  Discipline,  and  the 
practice  it  enjoins.  By  the  second  Book  of  Discipline  the  office 
was  made  permanent,  but  it  was  arranged  that  a  sufficient  num- 
ber might  be  appointed  to  allow  a  certain  quota  to  officiate  alter- 
nately. In  the  French  Protestant  churches,  the  office  was  and  is 
temporary.  In  the  Reformed  Dutch  church.  Elders  are  elected 
every  two  years.'^ 

As  to  ordination,  the  earliest  and  fullest  account  is  that  given 
by  the  Confession  of  the  Bohemian  church,  adopted  in  1632. 
"They  who  are  chosen  by  a  plurality  of  votes  after  evening  ser- 
mon is  ended,  are  called  forth  by  the  visitor  and  the  duties  of 
their  office  are  read  to  them.       And  they  by  word,  and  with  the 

^  I  use  a  copy  printed  in  1688.     See  pp.  422,  425. 

^  Page  426,  Romans  12:  7,  8,  and  1  Cor.  12  :  28,  are  given  as  proof  texts, 
but  not  1  Tim.  5:  17,  which  is  never  once  quoted  in  all  the  varied  references 
to  the  subject,  pp.  427,  429,  431,  434,  &c. 

^  See  quoted  by  Dr.  Ames  in  Plea  for  Presbytery,  page  360. 

4  Confut.  of  the  Remist's  Transl.  1618,  p.  573. 

^  Lorimer  on  the  f]ldershjp,  p.  165. 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  15 

lifted  hand,  promise  faithfulness  and  diligence.  And  that  in  the 
church  also  they  may  discharge  the  duty  of  watchmen,  they  are 
honored  with  a  peculiar  seat,  that  they  may  the  more  convenient- 
ly see  the  people."^  It  thus  appears  from  this  model,  which 
doubtless  embraced  the  views  of  the  Reformed  churches,  that 
no  imposition  of  hands  was  employed  in  the  ordination  of  Elders. 
That  such  was  the  case  in  the  Church  of  Geneva  is  certain.  And 
that  no  such  form  has  ever  been  introduced  into  the  Presbyterian 
churches  of  Scotland  and  Ireland  is  also  certain.  Neither  is  any 
such  form  prescribed  or  implied  in  our  own  standards,  or  used 
by  any  other  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  chrch,  sofar  as  is 
known  to  us. 

The  duties  of  Elders  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  are  thus  laid 
down  in  Steuart's  Collections,  a  work  which  was  of  standard  au- 
thority in  this  country  until  the  aboption  of  our  own  form  of  gov- 
ernment, and  which  constituted  the  basis  on  which  that  form  was 
constructed.^  "  The  duties  of  the  Elders  which  are  more 
public  are  those  which  lie  upon  them  in  the  assemblies  of  the 
church  in  which  ruling  Elders  have  right  to  reason  and  vote  in 
all  matters  coming  before  them,  even  as  ministers  have  ;  for  in 
General  Assemblies  their  commissions  bear  them  to  the  same 
power  with  pastors.  Howbeit  by  the  practice  of  our  church,  the 
execution  of  some  decrees  of  the  church  doth  belong  to  the  pas- 
tors only,  such  as  the  imposition  of  hands,  the  pronouncing  of 
the  sentences  of  excommunication  and  absolution,  the  receiving 
of  penitents,  the  intimation  of  sentences  and  censures  about 
ministers  and  such  like.  In  short,  the  Elder  is  to  speak  nothing 
to  the  church  from  the  pulpit." 

It  might  have  been  thought  therefore  impossible,  but  for  facts 
to  the  contrary,  for  any  question  ever  to  have  arisen  as  to  the  right 
or  duty  of  ruling  elders  to  join  in  imposing  hands  at  the  ordination 
of  ministers.  For  surely  if  there  is  one  act  peculiar  to  ministers 
as  "  the  messengers  and  heralds  between  God  and  the  people"  it 
is  this,  and  how  can  it  with  any  propriety  be  the  function  of  an 
officer  who  has  never  himself  been  similarly  inducted  into  office. 


^  See  page  51  as  quoted  in  Plea  for  Presbytery,  p.  356. 

^  See  Compendium  of  the  Laws  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  vol.  1,  pp.  223, 


224. 


16  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST, 

Certain  it  is  that  in  the  Directory  of  the  Westminster  Assembly, 
which  is  the  standard  of  all  the  Scotch,  Irish,  and  most  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Churches,  it  is  again  and  again  declared 
as  if  by  a  frequent  and  intentional  repetition,  that  "preaching 
presbyters  orderly  associated  are  those  to  whom  the  imposition  of 
hands  doth  appertain  for  those  congregations  within  their  bounds 
respectively."^  And  it  is  even  required  in  the  great  emergency 
in  which  the  church  then  stood,  that  "  it  is  requisite  that  minis- 
ters be  ordained  by  some  who,  being  set  apart  themselves  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  have  power  to  join  in  setting  apart 
others.'"^ 

It  is,  therefore  to  be  hoped,  that  a  question  so  clearly  settled 
by  the  universal  practice  of  our  own  church,  and  of  every  sister 
church,  will  be  put  to  rest,  and  that  elders  especially  will  not  be 
found  agitating  the  church  by  such  vain  and  foolish  questions, 
which  gender  strifes,  and  while  they  do  no  good,  stand  in  the  way 
of  much  that  might  be  accomplished. 

Such  then  are  the  officers  which  the  ascended  Saviour  institu- 
ted in  his  church.  Now  the  great  end  aimed  at  in  the  organiza- 
tion, polity,  ordinances  and  offices  of  the  church,  was  its  complete 
organization,  and  therefore  its  efficiency.  Thus  speaks  the  apos- 
tle in  the  above  passage,  where  he  says  that  the  object  of  all  this 
varied  ministry  was  to  prepare  believers  for  the  perfect  enjoy- 
ment of  all  Christian  privileges,  and  the  successful  discharge  of 
all  Christian  obligations  to  the  impenitent  around  them  and  to 
the  world  at  large. ^  The  church  itself,  and  all  its  officers  and 
the  whole  machinery  of  its  spiritual  organization,  are  not  to  be 
regarded,  as  in  themselves  considered,  of  value  or  importance, 
any  more  than  the  rites  and  ceremonies,  the  types  and  shadows 
of  the  ancient  economy.  Like  them,  they  are  means  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  an  ultimate  end,  and  will,  when  that  end  is  at- 
tained, pass  away  and  be  forgotten.  These  constitute  but  the 
building  for  the  accommodation  of  the  redeemed,  while  in  this 
land  of  their  pilgrimage  ;  and  like  the  rude  frame-work  of  the 
tabernacle,  will  give  place  to  that  temple  not  made  with  hands, 

'  See  Lorimer  on  the  Eldership,  pp.  438,  443.  '  See  page  449. 

'  See  the  remarks  on  this  passage  in  the  author's  work  on  Presbytery  and 
Prelacy,  pp.  33,  83,  85,  107,  138. 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER,  17 

eternal  in  the  heavens.  To  allow,  then,  our  devotion  to  ter- 
minate on  the  outward  form,  order,  ministry,  or  ordinances  of 
any  church  ;  or  our  confidence  to  be  placed  upon  our  connexion 
with  them,  is  nothing  short  o^  idolatry,  and  can  be  no  more  ac- 
ceptable to  God,  who  is  a  Spirit,  and  must  be  worshiped  in  spir- 
it and  in  truth,  than  the  worship  of  the  golden  calves  of  Aaron 
and  of  Jeroboam.  The  apostle  therefore  directs  our  attention  to 
the  great  and  ultimate  end  for  which  Christ  became  the  founda- 
tion and  the  chief  corner  stone  of  Zion,  and  for  which  he  has 
instituted  all  its  laws,  polity,  and  ordinances.  These  are  all  de- 
signed to  increase  the- number  and  perfect  the  hearts  of  them 
that  should  hereafter  believe  on  his  name,  that  they  should  no 
longer  be  left  like  children,  helpless  and  exposed  ;  or  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea  be  tossed  to  and  fro  by  every  new  doctrine  and 
opinion  ;  or  like  clouds  be  borne  hither  and  thither  by  every 
gust  of  sophistical  delusion  which  cunning  and  eloquent  men  may 
advance;  but  may  rather  be  enabled  by  a  steadfast  and  affectionate 
adherence  to  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  the  simple  ordinances 
of  Christ,  to  grow  up  to  the  maturity  of  perfect  men,  and  to  the 
full  measure  of  that  spiritual  maturity  which  is  the  fullness  of 
Christ,  the  great  centre  of  union,  and  the  only  source  of  life  and 
joy;  and  may  thus  attain  to  that  holiness  which  will  fit  them  to 
become  residents  in  his  mansion  in  the  skies,  and  meet  partakers 
of  an  inheritance  among  the  saints  in  light.  Such  is  the  true 
and  ultimate  end  aimed  at  in  the  constitution  of  the  church 
and  its  ministrations,  and  just  so  far  as  it  is  found  effectual  in  ac- 
complishing this  glorious  result  is  it  to  be  regarded  as  fulfilling 
its  high  destiny.  In  this  aspect  the  true  character  and  impor- 
tance of  these  offices  and  ordinances  become  apparent;  and 
their  wise  and  merciful  adaptation  to  the  capacities  and  wants  of 
weak,  erring,  and  mutable  creatures,  and  to  the  social  sympathies 
of  our  nature,  clear  and  manifest.  The  church  is  our  home,  its 
ministers  our  kind  instructors,  its  officers  our  guardians  and 
friends,  its  members  our  brethren  and  sisters,  and  its  ordinances 
and  public  assemblies  those  spiritual  meals  where  we  are  gathered 
around  the  sacred  and  family  board,  and  partake  together  of  the 
provisions  of  everlasting  life  and  joy.  And  just  as  the  family 
homestead,  the   instructions  there    given,    and  the  sympathies 


18  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST, 

there  awakened,  irradiate  life's  otherwise  cheerless  pathway  with 
the  continual  sunshine  of  happiness  and  peace,  and  fit  us  for  the 
proper  discharge  of  life's  duties,  and  a  patient  endurance  of  its 
trials  ;  so  do  all  the  influences  which  encompass  us  round  about 
in  the  dwelling-place  of  the  children  of  God,  give  us  in  this  life 
peace  and  contentment,  and  many  an  hour  of  rapturous  exulta- 
tion, and  prepare  us  for  the  blessedness  and  the  activities  of  a 
better  world. 

By  the  ministrations  of  the  church  and  the  faithful  proclama- 
tion of  the  gospel,  men  are  led  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  thus  become  united  to  Him  as  their  legal,  vital,  and 
ever-living  head.  And  by  a  union  with  the  church,  men  are 
also  brought  into  the  relation  of  spiritual  unity  and  brotherhood 
with  those  who  are  members  of  Christ's  body,  and  become  with 
them  branches  of  the  same  vine,  sheep  of  the  same  fold,  soldiers 
in  the  same  host,  members  of  the  same  body,  children  of  the 
same  household,  indwellers  in  the  same  ark  of  deliverance,  heirs 
to  the  same  inheritance,  and  laborers  in  the  same  vineyard. 
Now  the  ministrations  of  the  church  promote  this  double  union 
to  Christ  the  common  Head,  and  to  fellow-Christians;  and  thus 
enable  it  by  the  unity  of  its  spirit,  the  harmony  of  its  plans,  the 
affectionateness  of  its  members  one  for  another,  by  its  public  at- 
testation to  the  truth,  by  its  holy  light,  influence  and  example, 
and  by  its  active,  zealous  and  liberal  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
Christ,  to  make  the  Gospel  sound  forth  into  all  the  region  round 
about,  and  to  the  very  remotest  bounds  of  the  earth.  For  this 
purpose  does  Christ,  the  good  shepherd,  still  continue  to  send 
forth  ministers  as  under  shepherds,  that  they  may  gently  lead  his 
flock  along  the  green  pastures,  and  beside  the  still  waters;  gath- 
er the  lambs  into  his  arms  of  mercy;  and  feed  them  with  milk 
and  food  convenient  for  them,  until  they  grow  to  maturity  in 
knowledge  and  in  grace.  For  this  purpose  are  elders  also  given, 
that  they  may  co-operate  with  the  under  shepherd  in  guarding 
the  flock  from  all  harm,  violence  and  treachery;  in  leading  forth 
the  sheep  to  the  pasture  ;  in  tending  upon  the  weak,  and  sickly, 
and  faint;  in  expelling  and  keeping  away  such  as  are  infectious 
and  disorderly  ;  and  in  paying  especial  attention  to  the  nurture 
and   admonition  of  the  young.      For   this  purpose  are  deacons 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  19 

also  instituted,  that  while  the  ministry  and  the  eldership  may  give 
themselves  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  people,  they  may  re- 
lieve them,  by  taking  charge  of  the  business  of  raising  all  the 
pecuniary  resources  of  the  church,  making  collections  for  the 
poor  and  other  pious  purposes ;  distributing  these  funds  accord- 
ing to  the  necessities  of  the  needy  and  the  impoverished  ;  and 
attending  generally  to  the  temporal  concerns  of  the  church.  For 
this  purpose  are  the  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper 
given,  that  by  the  one  children  and  others  may  be  initiated  into 
the  privileges  and  responsibilities  of  the  Christian  family;  and 
that  by  the  other  all  its  members  may  be  enriched  by  Christ  with 
all  spiritual  blessings.  For  this  purpose  has  Christ  instituted 
discipline,  that  in  accordance  with  our  present  weak  and  imper- 
fect state,  the  mistakes  of  his  officers  may  be  corrected,  difficul- 
ties obviated,  unfruitful  trees  trimmed  and  digged  about,  the  un- 
ruly and  disobedient  warned,  the  backslider  restored,  and  the 
apostate  or  open  sinner  visited  with  that  sentence  which  will  be 
a  precursor  of  his  future  destiny.  For  this  purpose  is  every 
member  of  the  church  individually  and  relatively  of  importance 
to  its  interests,  and  their  hearty  co-operation  necessary  to  the 
prosperity  and  efficiency  of  the  body.  Ministers  are  like  the 
head  from  which  proceeds  that  stimulus,  guidance,  and  direction, 
which  are  essential  to  the  vitality,  the  activity,  the  dignity,  and 
the  harmony  of  the  system.  Ruling  elders  are  like  the  joints, 
sinews,  and  nerves,  which  condtict  the  vitalizing  influence  of 
the  brain  to  the  extremities;  bind  together  every  separate  limb; 
and  thus  give  unity,  efficiency  and  energy,  to  the  entire  frame. 
And  the  various  members  of  the  church  resemble  the  lungs,  the 
heart,  the  digestive  organs,  the  hands,  and  the  feet,  by  whose  co- 
operation and  harmonious  play,  the  whole  man  is  consecrated  to 
God,  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit ;  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  accepta- 
ble unto  him.  It  is  therefore  evidently  upon  the  combined  union, 
love,  harmony  and  co-operation  of  each  and  all  of  these,  that  the 
prosperity  of  any  church  depends.  Life,  and  even  partial 
strength,  may  co-exist  with  the  absence  or  weakness  of  any  one 
member;  but  health,  vigor,  activity,  and  consequent  success  im- 
ply and  require  the  existence  and  hearty  consecration  of  all 
to  the  advancement  of  one  common  end.  Deficiency  in  anyone 
member   begets  weakness   and  inefficiency   in  all,  and  acts  like 


20  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST, 

a  diain  upon  the  energy  of  the  body,  and   a  drag-weight  clogging 
and  hindering  its  progress. 

Thus  have  we  found  it  in  our  sad  experience  as  a  church.^ 
We  have  been  like  the  loose  and  separate  limbs,  joints,  and 
sinews,  of  a  dismembered  frame — every  one  looking  to  his  own 
interests,  and  none  regarding  the  prosperity  of  the  body  as  the 
subject  of  his  own  individual  solicitude  and  responsibility. — 
Could  we,  my  brethren,  imagine  all  the  several  stones  and  tim- 
bers, which,  compacted  together,  form  this  building,  every  one 
to  exist  in  insolated  separation  from  the  rest,  instead  of  being 
firmly  held  together  by  that  which  every  one  supplieth,  then 
might  we  have  a  representation  of  the  disadvantages  under 
which,  as  a  church,  we  have  hitherto  labored.  As  your  minister, 
I  have  endeavored  to  instruct,  to  warn,  to  correct,  to  improve, 
and  thoroughly  to  furnish  you  for  every  good  word  and  work ; 
giving  to  every  man,  whether  a  professor  of  religion  or  otherwise, 
his  portion  in  due  .season,  without  fear  or  favor,  partiality  or 
hypocrisy.  But  when  the  incorruptible  seed  of  divine  truth  has 
been  thus  sown  in  your  hearts,  where  have  been  the  co-workers  to 
go  about  the  vineyard,  and  by  their  co-operating  efforts,  to  cover 
that  which  was  exposed  to  the  birds  of  the  air  ;  to  plant  still 
deeper  that  which  had  only  fallen  upon  the  surface ;  to  foster  that 
which  had  taken  root ;  and  to  water  that  which,  after  it  had 
sprung  up,  was  withering  for  want  of  the  genial  and  fertilizing 
rain  ?  How  much  strength  has  thus  been  spent  in  vain,  and  how 
much  labor  has  thus  been  given  for  nought !  How  much  seed  of 
the  word  has  been  lost;  how  many  germinating  plants  have  been 
killed  by  untimely  exposure  and  neglect ;  and  how  many  flourish- 
ing and  healthy  plants  have  been  allowed  to  fade  and  die  through 
utter  negligence.  When  little  difficulties  and  misconceptions 
have  arisen,  where  have  been  the  peace-makers,  eager  to  obtain 
the  promised  blessing  of  heaven,  who  have  removed  misappre- 
hension, satisfied  doubts,  soothed  irritated  sensibility,  and  hush- 
ed the  first  breathing  of  anger,  dissatisfiiction  and  discord ! 
When  temporal  straits  or  embarrassments  have  come  suddenly 
upon  others,  and  overwhelmed  their  minds  with  gloomy  pertur- 

*  This  picture  may  apply  to  too  many  churches,  and  is  therefore  retained  as 
delivered. 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  21 

bation,  where  have  been  those  friends  in  need  who  are  as  ready 
to  weep  with  those  that  weep,  as  to  rejoice  with  those  that  rejoice  ; 
and  thus  to  nerve  and  cheer  the  heart  which  would  otherwise 
shrink  and  tremble  before  the  biting  blast!  And  when  any 
sheep  of  the  flock  has  begun  to  wander  from  the  fold,  to  neglect 
the  green  pastures  of  its  own  fertile  vale,  and  to  drink  from 
strange  fountains,  where  have  been  those  watchful  shepherds 
who  have  marked  the  first  wandering  footstep,  and  gently  wooed 
it  back  to  its  own  spiritual  home  1  Where  have  been  the  daysmen 
to  mediate  between  the  pastor  and  his  numerous  flock  ;  to  hear 
the  plaints  or  murmurings  of  both ;  and  thus  to  oil  the  wheels 
which  must  otherwise  drag  heavily  and  with  grating  sound,  so 
that  the  whole  machinery  may  accomplish  its  designed  results 
noiselessly  and  with  powerful  efficiency  ?  Not  that  we  have  had 
no  advantage  from  those  who  have  labored  in  this  field,  but  that 
through  sudden  and  untimely  death,  the  fewness  of  their  num- 
ber, and  other  causes,  this  influence  has  been,  to  a  great  extent, 
lost  or  unfelt. 

But  these  difficulties  are  now,  we  trust,  in  some  good  mea- 
sure to  be  obviated,  by  the  consecration  of  those  brethren  to  the 
work  and  office  of  the  eldership  whom  you  have  with  so  great 
unanimity  appointed. 

AN  ADDRESS  TO  RULING  ELDERS  ; 

Wherein  is  exhibited  the  relation  of  Ruhng  Elders  to  t]je  people,  to  the  Minis- 
try, and  to  the  Church  at  large. 

Christian  Brethren, — Allow  me,  in  the  name  of  this 
church  and  of  my  brethren  in  the  ministry,  to  welcome  you  to 
the  honor,  the  responsibility,  and  the  labors  of  the  office  of  Rul- 
ing Elder.  The  nature,  end,  and  object,  for  which  this  office 
has  been  instituted  in  the  church  you  have  already  heard.  It 
stands  in  a  threefold  relation  ;  first,  to  the  people  ;  secondly,  to 
the  pastor ;  and  thirdly,  to  the  church  at  large. 

Your  primary  relation  is  to  the  members  of  the 
CHURCH.  Of  these  you  are  the  representatives.  From  their  num- 
ber, and  by  their  free  votes,  you  have  been  called  to  this  honor- 
able office.     To  you  they  have  delegated   in   a  great   measure, 


22  OF  THE  CHURCH  OP  CHRIST, 

the  exercise  of  their  ultimate  rights,  in  the  government  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  Church.     You  are,  therefore,  truly  their  repre- 
sentatives, and    are   responsible  to  them,  and   to    Him    who  is 
their  and  your  common  Lord,  for  the  manner  in  which  you  dis- 
charge your  functions.     For  it  is  provided  in  our  Form  of  Gov- 
ernment, (chap.  xiii.  §  vi.)  that  an   elder   may  not  only  become 
incapable  of  performing  the  duties  of  his  office,  by  age  or  infirm- 
ity, but   may  also  become  unacceptable  in  his  official  character 
to  a  majority  of  the  congregation   to  which  he  belongs,  though 
not  chargeable   with  either   heresy  or   immorality ;   and  that,  in 
such  a  case,  the  members  of  the  church  may  request,  or  if  neces- 
sary require,  him  to  "  cease  to  be  an  active  elder."     You  will, 
therefore,  pay  all  due  regard   to  your  spiritual  constituents,  by 
whom,  in  accordance  with  the  example  of  Apostolic  Christians, 
and   the   practice   of  the   primitive  and  reformed  churches,  you 
have  been  so  honorably  elected  to  office.     Ever  cherish  the  re- 
membrance of  this  relation  which   you   sustain  towards   them, 
and  the   correspondent  obligations  under  which   it  lays  you  to 
seek  their  best  spiritual  and  Christian  welfare.     They  have  giv- 
en you  the  highest  possible  testimony  that  they  have  confidence 
in  you  as  Christian  men,  and  that  they  esteem   you  very  highly 
in  love.     Reciprocate  these  feelings  in  your  conduct  towards 
them.     Be    kindly  affectioned    towards  them.     Make  their  ac- 
quaintance.    Visit  them  in   their   houses.     Cultivate  kind  and 
friendly  dispositions.     Let  them  feel  that  you  take  an  interest  in 
them ;   in  their    children  ;    and   in   all  their  spiritual  troubles. 
Give  them  your  advice,  when  it  is  desired,  in  reference  to  any 
worldly  matter  which  may  perplex  or  trouble  their  minds.     Espe- 
cially regard  the  young  members  of  these  families,  and  by  your 
interest  in  their  education,  prospects  and  happiness,  endeavor  to 
secure  their  affection  for  the  church  of  their   fathers  ;   and  their 
hearts  and  lives  and  services  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  in  the  morn- 
ing of  their  days.     Be  present,  as  far  as  practicable,  at  all  their 
meetings,  both  on   the  Sabbath  and    in   the  week  ;   and  let  no- 
thing short  of  necessity  satisfy  you  as  an   excuse  for    forsaking 
the  assembling  of  yourselves  in  their  meetings  for  prayer  as  well 
as    for    more   public   worship.      Frequently    visit   the    Sabbath 
School,  if  you  can  do  no  more,  and  let  every  meeting  for  the  im- 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  23 

provement  of  the  young  have  peculiar  claims  on  your  attention 
and  presence.  Impossible,  be  ready  to  offer  prayer  when  neces- 
sary or  desirable,  by  the  bedside  of  the  sick,  the  sorrowful,  and 
the  dying;  or  whenever  and  wherever  you  may  be  desired;  and 
be  ready  also  to  give  a  reason  to  every  man  that  asketh  you  of 
the  hope  that  is  in  you ;  to  counsel  the  ungodly ;  or  to  direct 
the  awakened  and  inquiring  sinner. 

Remember,  however,  that  while  you  are  the  representatives 
of  the  people,  you  represent  not  their  wishes  and  opinions,  but 
their  duties  and  obligations,  their  rights  and  privileges, 
as  these  are  laid  down  in  those  heavenly  laws  to  which  you  and 
they  are  both  alike  subject,  and  which  no  power  on  earth  can 
either  alter,  modify,  abridge,  or  enlarge.  Cherish  therefore,  ex- 
alted views  of  your  spiritual  independence  and  authority. 
You  are  officers  of  Christ,  and  in  his  kingdom  ;  and  within  this 
jurisdiction  no  laws  of  man,  and  no  whims,  caprice,  or  passions 
of  men,  have  any  right  to  enter.  Your  instructions  come  not 
from  man,  but  from  Him  to  whom  the  highest  among  the  sons 
of  men  are  subject,  whose  will  is  the  law  of  the  universe,  and 
whose  word  is  the  exposition  of  his  will  respecting  the  inhabit- 
ants of  this  lower  world.'  Stand  fast,  therefore,  in  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  hath  made  you  free,  and  be  brought  into  bond- 
age by  no  undue  regard  either  to  the  favor  or  the  frowns  of  men. 
Be  ye  wise  as  serpents  ;  so  as  to  avoid  giving  any  offence  either 
by  pride,  or  sycophancy ;  by  harshness  or  indifference ;  by  se- 
verity or  laxity  of  discipline.  Be  very  scrupulous  and  conscien- 
tious in  discovering  the  path  of  duty  ;  and  as  fearless  in  pursu- 
ing it,  whether  men  will  praise  or  whether  they  will  condemn. 
Seek  not  popularity  at  the  expense  of  fidelity  ;  nor  provoke  jeal- 
ousy and  displeasure  through  any  vain  and  wanton  assumption 
of  a  reckless  bluntness  and  harshness,  either  of  manner  or  ot 
speech.  And  remember  that  to  your  own  Master  you  stand  or 
fall,  and  that  accordingly  as  you  commend  yourselves  to  His 
approval,  will  you  be  either  condemned  or  rewarded,  whatever 
may  be  the  opinion  of  men. 

So  much  for  your  relation  to  the  members  of  the  church. 

'  See  the  Divine  Right  of  Church  Government,  page  27^. 


24  OP  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST, 

But  you  stand  also  related  to  its  bishop  or  pastor.  For 
you  are  "  the  representatives  of  the  people,  chosen  by  them  for  the 
purpose  of  exercising  government  and  discipline  in  conjunction 
with  the  pastor."  The  grand,  primary,  and  characteristic  office 
of  the  bishop  is  authoritatively  to  teach  whatsoever  Christ  has 
commanded.  But  as  the  highest  office  includes  the  less,  and 
implies  the  authority  necessary  to  discharge  all  its  functions,  so 
does  the  ministry  include  not  only  the  function  of  teaching,  but 
also  the  office  of  ruling ;  not  only  what  pertains  to  the  office 
of  the  bishop,  but  also  what  pertains  to  the  office  of  the 
elder  and  the  deacon ;  and  not  only  what  relates  to  the  spiritual 
interests  of  the  church,  but  also  to  the  general  superintendence 
of  the  temporal  affiiirs,  and  whatever  concerns  the  welfare  of  the 
church.  But  in  order  that  the  bishops  of  the  Church  might  give 
themselves  supremely  to  the  ministry  of  the  word  and  to  prayer, 
these  other  offices  were  created  in  order  to  aid  and  assist  them 
in  these  several  spheres;  the  elders  in  all  that  relates  to  the  spir- 
itual government  of  the  church,  and  the  deacons  in  all  that  has 
regard  to  the  temporal  interests  of  the  congregation.  And 
hence  in  the  Reformed  churches,  in  the  Scotch  church  formerly, 
(and  in  the  Free  church  of  Scotland  now,)  there  existed  in  every 
church,  not  only  a  spiritual  court  called  the  Session,  but  also 
what  is  called  the  Deacon's  Court,  composed  of  the  pastor,  el- 
ders, and  deacons.  So  that  while  the  pastor  was  recognized  as 
head  of  the  church  in  all  its  relations,  the  elders  represented  the 
interests  of  the  people  in  the  same  various  aspects ;  while  the 
deacons  after  receiving  counsel  from  both,  carried  out  the  com- 
mon views  of  the  whole  body  in  all  that  pertained  to  the  poor, 
and  the  outward  expenditures  of  the  church. 

Such,  then,  is  another  aspect,  my  dear  brethren,  of  your  high 
calling.  Your  office  is  second  in  dignity  and  importance  only 
to  that  of  the  bishopric ;  and  you  are  associated  with  the  pastor 
in  taking  the  entire  oversight  of  the  flock  "  over  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  has  appointed  you."  Much  of  the  authority  and  power 
of  your  office  has,  by  an  evil  and  disastrous  custom,  fallen  into 
other  hands,  or  is  no  longer  exercised  at  all;  but  it  is  not  the 
less — BUT  THE  MORE — uccessary  to  bring  forward  their  nature 
and  their  claims,  that,  with  the  reviving  spirit  of  Presbyterianism, 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  25 

the  office  of  ruling  elder  may  be  generally  restored  to  its  true 
elevation,  and  to  the  exercise  of  all  its  functions.  The  great  object, 
therefore,  of  your  office,  so  far  as  it  respects  the  congregation  over 
which  you  preside,  is  to  constitute,  with  the  pastor  or  bishop,  a 
spiritual  court  for  all  matters  of  government  and  discipline  ;  a 
common  council  by  whom  all  its  interests  may  be  guarded  and 
advanced ;  and  a  body  of  assistants  and  co-workers  by  whom 
the  labors  of  one  minister  may  suffice  instead  of  many;  his  la- 
bors being  subdivided  and  his  time  principally  given  to  the  pul- 
pit, to  the  visitation  of  the  sick,  the  inquiring  and  the  spiritually 
distressed;  to  the  public  business  of  the  church;  and  to  the  de- 
fence of  the  truth,  not  only  in  the  pulpit  but  through  the  press, 
which  has  become,  next  to  the  pulpit,  the  mightiest  instrumen- 
tality either  for  good  or  for  evil.  On  you,  therefore,  must  your 
minister  lean  as  his  Aarons  and  Hurs  when  wearied  and  faint. 
To  you  must  he  seek  for  counsel  in  times  of  perplexity  and 
doubt.  In  you  must  he  find  strength  and  influence  in  carrying 
out  the  discipline  of  the  church,  and  enforcing  the  obligations  of 
Christian  discipleship.     To  you  must  he  especially  look  for  an 

EXAMPLE  OF  CONSISTENCY  AND  DEVOTEDNESS  BOTH  AS  HEAR- 
ERS AND  DOERS  OF  THE  WoRD,  both  in  your  personal  walk  and 
conversation  ;  in  the  Christian  regulation  of  your  families ;  and 
in  your  willing  and  ready  co-operation,  to  the  utmost  of  your 
ability,  in  every  cause  of  benevolence  and  Christian  charity. 

This  leads  me  to  remind  you,  that  by  the  constitution  of  our 
church  YOU  bear  also  an  important  relation  to  the  church 
AT  LARGE.  For  as  the  representatives  of  the  people  you  are 
entitled  to  sit  as  delegates  in  all  our  ecclesiastical  courts,  and 
there  to  deliberate,  speak,  and  vote,  on  all  matters  that  can  come 
before  the  body,  and  also  to  carry  into  execution  all  their  deter- 
minations, except  where  they  imply  functions  peculiar  to  the 
office  of  the  ministry,  such  as  presiding  in  any  court,  preaching, 
administering  sacraments,  ordaining,  or  pronouncing  sen- 
tence of  suspension,  and  final  excommunication.  In  this  way, 
the  popular  character  of  the  church  is  effectually  secured  ;  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  Christ's  elect  people  maintained  inviolate  ; 
the  encroachments  of  a  spiritual  hierarchy  and  priestly  despo- 
tism checked  ;  and  the  free,  public,  and  open  constitution  of  all 

3 


^  OP    THE    CHURCH    OF    CHRIST, 

our  ecclesiastical  proceedings  perpetuated.  The  recent  history 
of  our  own  churcli,  and  that  also  of  our  sister  churches  in  Scot- 
land and  in  Ireland,  will  prove  to  you  how  potent  is  the  influence 
which  an  enlightened  and  devoted  eldership  can  exert,  in  with- 
standing the  attacks  both  of  external  and  internal  foes;  in  arous- 
ing a  sleeping  church  to  a  due  sense  of  its  danger,  and  to  a  full 
exercise  of  its  powers  ;  and  in  thus  lifting  up  a  standard  against 
the  enemy,  when  he  rushes  in  like  a  flood,  either  in  the  form  of 
heresy,  or  error,  or  cold  Laodicean  formalism,  or  in  Erastian 
conspiracy  with  the  powers  of  this  world  to  betray  into  their 
hands  the  crown  and  prerogatives  of  the  only  King  and  Head  of 
the  church.  And,  in  other  days  too,  as  you  retrace  the  footsteps 
of  the  flock,  upon  the  bleak  and  barren  moors,  and  by  the  deep 
and  secluded  valleys,  or  the  midnight  gathering  by  the  light  of 
lantern  or  torch  under  heaven's  open  canopy,  you  will  find  that 
had  not  the  pastors  of  the  church  been  aided  by  bold  and  fear- 
less under-shepherds,  they  never  could  have  preserved  through 
such  bloody  and  fiendish  persecutions,  and  against  such  fearful 
odds,  that  little  flock  whom  God  has  preserved  upon  the  moun- 
tains of  Piedmont,  in  Scotland,  in  Ireland,  and  in  this  wide  em- 
pire, and  to  whom  he  has  yet  purposed  "  to  give  them  the  king- 
dom." 

To  you  then,  ye  elders  of  the  church,  are  committed  the  or- 
aeles  of  God.  You  too  are  set,  like  ministers,  for  the  defence 
of  the  truth,  and  purity  and  liberty  of  the  gospel.  And  upon 
you,  in  no  inconsiderable  measure,  hangs  the  destinies  of  the 
church.  Estimate  then  as  you  ought,  the  privilege  of  occupying 
your  place  when  delegated  to  it,  on  the  high  field  of  our  ecclesi- 
astical legislatures  and  general  assemblies,  the  exalted  councils 
of  the  church.  Be  ready  to  meet  every  such  opening  by  any 
reasonable  sacrifice  of  time  and  expense.  Interest  your  hearts 
in  all  the  business  and  proceedings  of  the  church.  Study  thor- 
oughly its  doctrines,  its  history,  its  polity,  and  its  welfare.  And 
whenever  the  war-cry  of  danger  is  heard  upon  its  borders,  be  ye 
ready  to  come  up  as  standard-bearers  of  the  cross  to  the  help  of 
the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty. 

And  let  this  cheer  and  encourage  you,  brethren,  in  this  ar- 
duous, self-denying,  but  glorious  labor,  that  He   who  has  called 


AND  THE  OFFICE  OF  RULING  ELDER.  27 

yod  to  the  work  will  also  fit,  qualify  and  inspirit  you  for  its  dis- 
cliarge;  be  present  with  you  in  every  emergency  ;  guide  and  di- 
rect you  in  all  time  of  perplexity  ;  make  you  bold  as  lions,  and 
harmless  even  as  doves;  give  you  a  heart  to  love  him,  and  a 
tongue  to  pray  for  and  to  praise  him  ;  fill  you  with  joy  and  sat- 
isfaction in  discharging  your  Master's  work  :  and  when  the  day 
of  toil  is  over,  and  the  night  of  rest  is  come,  recompense  you  a 
hundred-fold  for  all  your  labors,  welcome  you  as  good  and  faith- 
ful servants  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord,  and  encircle  your  brow 
with  a  crown  of  glory  that  shall  never  fade  away. 

Neither  will  he  leave  you  alone  and  unaided,  to  undertake 
all  the  duties  involved  in  this  labor  of  love.  He  who  has  over- 
come your  reluctance,  and  silenced  your  objections,  and  put  it 
into  your  hearts  to  enter  into  the  vineyard,  and,  as  He  shall  ena- 
ble you,  labor  in  its  cultivation  ;  he  who  stirred  up  the  heart  of 
Zerubbabel  and  others,  in  his  day,  will,  if  we  pray  to  him  in 
earnestness  and  importunity,  lead  others  also  to  awake  from  their 
slumbers,  and  to  come  forth  at  the  voice  of  their  brethren,  say- 
ing, "  Here  Lord  are  we,  send  us."  With  these  encourage- 
ments, therefore,  and  in  this  hope  and  expectation,  "  be  ye  there- 
fore, brethren,  steadfast,  unmovable,  always  abounding  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  your  labor  will 
not  be  in  vain  in  the  Lord." 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH, 
Showing  their  duty  to  the  Ruling  Elders. 

And  now.  Christian  friends,  the  members  of  the  church,'! 
turn  myself,  in  closing,  to  you.  You  have  heard  the  nature,  ends 
and  duties  of  the  office  of  ruling  elder  expounded  in  your  hear- 
ing ;  you  have  heard  these  brethren  solemnly  devote  themselves 
to  this  high  and  holy  calling,  and  promise  and  covenant,  as  God 
shall  give  them  ability,  faithfully  to  attempt  the  discharge  of  its 
high  functions;  and  having  freely  elected  these  your  brethren, 
and  thus  constituted  them  your  spiritual  delegates  and  represen- 
tatives, you  have  now  as  solemnly  promised  with  uplifted  hands, 
"  to  acknowledge  and  receive  them  as  your  ruling  elders,"  and 


28  OP    THE    CHURCH    OP    CHRIST, 

to  yield  them  all  that  "  honor,  encouragement,  and  obedience," 
in  the  Lord,  to  which  tiieir  office,  according  to  the  word  of  God, 
the  constitution  of  our  church,  and  the  very  nature  of  the  rela- 
tion iiself,  entitles  them. 

You  ARE  TO  GIVE  THEM  HONOR.  This  Christianity  requires. 
It  dicrnifies  every  office,  whether  in  the  state  or  in  the  church, 
in  the  household  or  in  society ;  and  it  requires  its  disciples  to 
render  to  every  man  that  honor  which  is  his  due.  "  Let  every 
soul,"  is  its  voice,  "  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers,  for  there 
is  no  power  but  of  God,  the  powers  that  be,  having  been  insti- 
tuted by  God.  Whosoever,  therefore,  resisteth  the  power,  re- 
sisteth  the  ordinance  of  God,  and  they  that  resist  shall  receive 
to  themselves  condemnation.  Wherefore,  ye  must  needs  be  sub- 
ject, not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for  conscience'  sake.  Render, 
therefore,  to  all  their  dues,  and  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due." 
This  rule  is  universal,  but  in  reference  to  spiritual  office,  re- 
ceives the  sanction  of  solemn  and  superadded  claims.  "Obey," 
says  God  to  Christians,  "  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and 
submit  yourselves;  for  they  watch  for  your  souls,"  and  your 
spiritual  and  everlasting  interests,  "  as  they  that  must  give  ac- 
count." and  this  you  are  to  do,  "  that  they  may  give  this  account 
with  joy  and  not  with  grief,  for  this,"  adds  the  Apostle,  *'  would 
be  as  unprofitable  for  you  as  it  would  be  distressing  to  them." 
It  is  therefore  as  true  in  religion  as  in  the  fiimily,  in  every  social 
association,  and  in  the  state,  that  by  honoring  those  that  are  in 
authority  we  honor  ourselves,  and  secure  our  own  good.  For 
as  they  stand  as  our  representatives,  and  as  the  visible  types  and 
exponents  of  our  character  and  laws — by  honoring  them  we  dig- 
nify those  laws,  give  them  weight  and  authority  and  power ; 
carry  them  out  into  efficient  and  universal  operation,  and  thus 
secure  their  beneficial  results  in  the  elevation  of  our  own  char- 
acter, and  that  of  our  country,  family,  society,  or  church;  and 
in  the  peace,  harmony,  integrity,  and  happiness,  which  will  be 
thus  promoted. 

Give  to  your  elders,  therefore,  the  honor  which  is  their  due. 
Hold  their  persons, — because  you  hold  their  office, — in  reverence. 
Treat  them  with  that  deference  and  submission  which  will  show 
your  high  estimate  of  those  spiritual   functions  which  they  sus- 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  29 

tain,  as  office-bearers  in  the  holiest  and  most  exalted  so- 
ciety WHICH  exists  among  MEN.  In  honor  prefer  them  above 
others,  and  esteem  them  very  highly.  Consider  them  through 
the  light  thrown  over  them  by  the  office  to  which  you  yourselves 
have  elevated  them.  Cultivate,  therefore,  towards  them  in  your 
own  minds,  and  in  the  minds  of  your  children,  the  feelings  of 
love  and  respect,  and  ever  treat  them  with  a  correspondent  defer- 
ence and  regard.  Thus  will  you  exalt  their  office  ;  elevate  your 
own  conceptions  of  the  dignity  of  your  Christian  citizenship  : 
and  ennoble  the  character  of  our  common  Christianity. 

But  you  are  not  only  to  give  them  honor,  but  encour- 
agement also.  You  are  well  aware  how  reluctantly  these 
brethren  have  yielded  to  your  and  my  solicitations  to  accept  of 
this  appointment  and  to  enter  upon  this  office.  There  is  not 
one  of  them, — I  bear  them  record, — who  does  not  shrink  from 
the  undertaking,  and  enter  upon  it  with  fear  and  trembling,  and 
in  much  conscious  weakness.  There  is  not  one  of  them  who 
would  not  gladly  have  remained  in  the  ranks  of  private  citizen- 
ship. But  they  have  yielded  as  much  to  your  importunity  as  to 
the  sense  of  duty,  and  they  now  throw  themselves,  (and  they  are 
well  entitled  to  it,)  upon  your  most  kind  and  hearty  encourage- 
ment. 

And  how  can  you  encourage  them  1  You  can  do  this,  first, 
and  above  all  other  ways,  by  constantly  commending  them  to 
Him  who  can  give  them  courage,  who  can  take  away  their  fear- 
ful and  timid  hearts,  and  give  them  great  boldness  and  confi- 
dence through  the  strength  and  power  of  his  almighty  grace. 
You  can  do  this  by  giving,  in  your  kind  and  respectful  treat- 
ment, in  your  willing  co-operation,  and  in  your  readiness  to 
overlook  any  deficiencies,  increased  confidence  of  success  and 
greater  zeal  in  aiming  at  higher  attainments.  And  by  your 
Christian  humility,  consistency,  and  growth  in  holiness ;  and 
your  steadfast  attendance  upon  every  means  of  grace,  you  can 
inspire  them  with  courage,  spirit,  and  strength  of  mind.  You 
can,  in  these  and  other  ways,  by  your  union  and  co-operation, 
your  concurrence  in  their  decisions,  and  your  support  when  op- 
position would  be  madp  against  the  enforcements  of  the  truth 
and  order  of  God's  house,  embolden  and  animate  their  hearts, 
wid  inspirit  them  to  go  forward  with  untiring  zeal. 


30  OF    THE    CHURCH    OF    CHRIST, 

And  should  any  of  you  differ   in  opinion  from  the  plans  they 
may  recommend,  or  the  judgments  they  may  decree,  remember 
that  they  are  set  over   you  in  the  Lord,   and  that  unless  they 
have  acted  clearly  contrary  to  the  divine  law,  or  delivered  an 
opinion  in  opposition  to  the  mind  of  Christ,  or  adopted  a  course 
of  policy  derogatory  to  the   heavenly  institute;  you   are  under 
obligation  to  submit,  and  not  to  embroil  the  peace  and  harmony 
of  the  church  by  contending  for  your  private  interpretations  and 
your  personal  preferences.     And  should  any  of  you,  which  may 
God  forbid,  ever  become  the  subjects  of  their  righteous  condem- 
nation, either  on  the  ground  of  heresy  or  immorality,  or  swearing, 
or  Sabbath-breaking,  or  neglect  of  the  worship  and  ordinances  of 
the  church,  or  failure  to  observe   family  and  secret  worship,  or 
penurious  and  covetous  refusal  to  give  of  your  substance  and  ac- 
cording to  your   ability,   to  the  cause  of  Christ,  or  for  any  other 
sufficient  reason — I  charge  you  to  remember  that  it  will 
BE  AT  YOUR  PERIL  TO  RESIST  AND   DISOBEY.     For  they  bear  not 
rule  in  vain.     The  sword  of  spiritual   authority  has  been  freely 
and  lawfully  put  into  their  hands,  and  they  will,  and  cannot  but 
be  "  a  terror  to  evil-doers. '*     For  just  so  far  as  they  carry  out 
the  laws  of  Christ,  they  are  sustained  by  the  power  and   author- 
ity of  Christ,  so  that  "  what  they  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in 
heaven,  and  whomsoever  they  condemn  on  earth  shall  be  con- 
demned in  heaven."    They  are  the  ministers  of  Christ.    They  act 
in  his  name.    They  enforce  his  laws.     They  pronounce  sentence 
according  to  his  immutable  decrees.   And  in  doing  so  he  is  with 
them    and  he  will  fully  sustain  them.  And  unless  the  condemned 
violator  of  Christ's  law  shall  humble  his  soul   in  penitence  and 
sorrow,  and  shall  turn  from  his  evil  and  wicked  way,  Christ  will 
frown  upon  him,  and  write  bitter  things  against  him ;  and   if  he 
continue  obstinate  and  obdurate,  will  finally  smite  him  with  his 
iron  sceptre,  and  dash  him  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel.     But 
rather,  O  thou  divine  Redeemer,  so  work  in  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  this  people,  that  they  shall  ever  serve  thee  in  uprightness  and 
sincerity  all  the  days  of  their  life,  "  until  we  all  come  in  the  unity 
of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son   of  God,   unto   a 
perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the   fulness  of 
Christ  •  that  we  henceforth  be  no  more  children,  tossed  to  and 


AND    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  31 

fro,  and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight 
of  men,  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to  de- 
ceive; but  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  may  grow  up  into  him  in 
all  things,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ ;  from  whom  the  whole 
body  fitly  joined  together  and  compacted  by  that  which  every 
joint  supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the  measure 
of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto  the  edifying  of 
itself  in  love." 


CHAPTER    II. 

In  which  it  is  shown  that  in  Scripture  the  term  Presbyter  is  always  applied  to 
the  Preacher,  and  not  to  the  Ruling  Elder  ;  with  an  examination  of  1  Tim- 
othy 5:  17. 

It  is  unquestionably  true,  as  has  been  already  shown,  that 
there  is  both  principle  and  precedent  in  Scripture  to  warrant  the 
election,  by  every  church,  of  representatives  of  the  people,  to  act 
with  the  bishop  or  pastor  in  conducting  the  government  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  church.  We  found  that  such  officers  sat  with  the 
apos  ,es  and  presbyters  in  the  councils  of  the  church  as  delegat- 
ed commissioners,  under  the  title  of  "the  brethren,"  (Acts 
1  :  1  >-2(i,  6  :  1-6,  and  15,') — and  they  may  also  very  probably 
be  referred  to  in  other  passages.'^ 

*  In  none  of  these  cases  can  we  suppose  that  all  the  Christians  were  pres- 
ent, for  Christ  we  know  appeared  to  five  hundred  brethren,  and  at  the  time  of 
the  council  at  .Jerusalem  there  were  about  8,000  beUevers.  These  brethren, 
therefore,  represented  all,  and  acted  in  their  name.  See  Neander's  Hist,  of 
the  Chr.  Rel.  and  Ch.  vol.  1,  p.  205,  and  note,  English  edition. 

2  E.  g.  1  Cor.  12:  28,  Rom.  12:  8,  and  Matt.  18:  15-17.  That  the  word 
church  here  means  an  assembly  of  rulers  meeting  together  in  one  ecclesiastical 
judicatory,  see  largely  proved  in  Dr.  Ayton's  Orig.  Constit.  of  the  Church,  ch. 
ii.  §  3,  pp.  63,  64.  Cartwrighf  s  Confut.  of  the  Rhemists  on  Matt.  18  :  15-17. 
In  the  Fonii  of  Gov't  of  the  Waldenses,  this  passage  is  rendered,  "  tell  to  the 
guides  whereby  the  church  is  ruled."  Dr.  Miller  on  Eldership,  p.  108,  Am.  ed. 
Coleman's  Primitive  Church,  pp.  62,  63.  Brown's  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  Art. 
Church.  Livingstone's  Theology,  p.  251.  Rutherford's  Due  Right  of  Presby- 
teries, &c.  4to.  London,  1644,  at  pp.  309,  314,  322,  489-491.  See  alsof  pp. 
316,  348.  See  also  his  Plea  for  Paul's  Presbyterie,  4to.  London,  1642,  p.  85, 
&c.  Gillespie's  Aaron's  Rod  Blossoming,  4to.  London,  1646.  pp.  294-297, 
and  350-467.  See  further  Jus  Divinum  Regiminis  Ecclesiastici.  by  the  Lou- 
don ministers,  4to.  London,  1654,  p.  208,  &c.     See  also  many  authorities  pro- 


SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OF    THE    OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.        33 

That  such  a  class  of  officers  were  also  recognized  in  the 
primitive  church,  and  by  many  of  the  fathers,  cannot,  we  think, 
be  doubted  by  any  impartial  reader,  and  has  been  often  satisfac- 
torily proved.^  And  that  the  churches  very  early  adopted  the 
plan  of  having  such  representatives  of  the  people,  is  rendered 
still  more  certain  by  the  existence  of  such  officers  among  the 
Waldenses  and  the  Syrian  Christians. 

Thus  far  we  agree  in  opinion  with  the  standard  authorities  of 
our  church,  in  believing  in  the  scriptural  character  and 
CLAIMS  of  such  officers  in  the  church.  But  in  regard  to  the  ap- 
plication of  the  term  presuyter  in  Scripture  and  in  the  fathers 
to  the  ruling  elder,  we  are  obliged  to  dissent  from  the  commonly 
received  opinions.  We  are  still  persuaded  that  both  in  Scripture 
and  in  the  fathers  the  term  presbyter  is  confined  to  the  teach- 
ers or  bishops  of  the  church. 

That  such  is  the  case  in  Scripture,  we  infer  from  the  fact 
that  the  word  presbvter  is  there  used  synonymously  with  the 
term  bishop,  as  is  now  admitted  by  all  writers,  both  prelatical 
and  Presbyterian.^  Now  the  characteristic  function  and  duty  of 
the  bishop,  as  laid  down  in  Scripture,  is,  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  and  the  instruction  of  the  Christian  people.^  This  indeed 
has  been  most  strangely  questioned,  but  in  manifest  contradiction 
to  the  express  and  pointed  declaration  of  the  Word  of  God.  No 
words  can  be  used  by  which  the  office  of  public  teaching  could 
be  more  clearly  defined,  than  are  found  in  those  several  pas- 
sages, in  which  the  terms  presbyter  and  bishop  are  interchange- 
ably employed.^     Such  also  was  the  duty  imposed  by  the  Apos- 

duced  in  Paget's  Def.  of  Pres.  Ch.  Gov't.  London,  1641,  pp.  50,  51.  See  also 
the"author's  Ecclesiastical  Catechiem,  p.  8,  Slc.  Burnet  on  the  XXXIX  Art. 
p. 28]. 

'  See  Dr.  Miller's  work  on  the  Ruling  Elders,  and  also  his  Letters  on  the 
Christian  Ministry,  and  all  the  works  on  Presbyterianism. 

*  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  108,  &c. 

3  See  1  Tim.  3  :  1-8,  Titus  1  :  5-9,  and  1  Peter  5  :  1-5,  and  1  Tim.  5 : 
17,  and  Vitringa,  p.  484. 

*  Neander  in  his  Preface  to  Coleman's  Primitive  Church,  p.  16,  says,  "  And 
yet  a  distinction  is  also  made  between  these  pastors  and  teachers,  inasmuch  as 
the  qualitications  for  the  outward  government  of  the  church,  KvPspvtiaig,  were 
different  from  those  whi«h  were  requisite  for  the  guidance  of  the  church  by  the 


34  SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OF    THE 

tie  Paul  upon  the  ministers  of  Ephesus,  whom  he  in  the  same 
breath  calls  both  bishops  and  presbyters.^  In  exhorting  the  He- 
brew Christians  to  "  remember  them  that  have  the  rule  over 
them,"  (i.  e.  their  presbyters,)  he  explains  his  meaning  by  add- 
ing, "  who  have  spoken  unto  you,"  that  is,  preached  to  you, 
"  the  word  of  God. "^  This  point  is  to  our  minds  plain  and  pal- 
pable, for  as  the  great  duty  enjoined  by  Christ  in  his  commission 
was  the  preaching  of  the  gospel;  and  presbyters  or  bishops  are, 
as  we  believe,  the  only  ministers  under  that  commission,  it  fol- 
lows that  preaching  is  their  chief  and  distinguishing  function.^ 

But  if  preaching,  including  the  duties  of  presiding  in  the 
church,  of  conducting  the  public  worship  of  God,  of  baptizing 
and  administering  the  Lord's  Supper, ^ — if  these  are  the  work 
and  duty  of  the  bishop  or  presbyter,  and  are  arhmtted  by  all  par- 
ties not  to  be  the  functions  of  the  ruling  elder,  then  the  presump- 
tion is  very  strong  against  the  modern  assujiiption  that  the  terms 
presbyter  and  bishop  are  applied  in  Scripture  both  to  the  teachers 
of  the  church  and  to  a  class  of  officers  who  did  not  teach.  Nor 
is  this  presumption  weakened  by  an  appeal  to  the  usages  of  the 
Jewish  synagogue  ;  for  while  it  is  true  that  there  were  in  each  , 
synagogue  a  senate,  composed  of  elders  or  rulers  as  they  were 
called,  they  were  not  ordained  with  imposition  of  hands,^  whereas 

preaching  of  the  word,  6i6aaKa\ia.  The  first  belonged  especially  to  the  pres 
byters  or  bishops  who  stood  at  the  head  of  the  organization  for  the  outward 
government  of  the  church.  Certain  it  is,  at  least,  that  they  did  not  all  possess 
the  gift  of  teaching  as  ii^aaKoXoi,  teachers." 

^  See  Acts  20  :  28-31. 

2  Hebrews  13  :   7,  17. 

'  See  full  on  this  point  in  the  author's  work  on  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  eh. 
v.,  and  also  ch.  iv.,  and  in  the  Divine  Right  of  the  Gospel  Ministry,  by  the 
London  Ministers. 

*  See  do.  do.  ch,  v. 

°  Lightfoot  (Works,  vol.  viii.  pp.  459,  460)  says: — "  The  ordaining  of  the 
elders  and  beheading  the  heifer,  is  by  the  three."  In  this  thing,  therefore,  this 
present  action  agreeth  with  the  common  usage  of  the  Synagogue, — that  three 
persons,  Simeon,  Lucius,  and  Manaen,  lay  their  hands  on  two,  that  were  to  be 
sent  out, — Paul  and  Barnabas.  But  in  that  they  lay  on  their  hands,  they  do, 
also,  recede  from  the  usual  custom.  "  After  what  manner  is  the  ordaining  of 
elders  ;  for  ever  ?  Not  that  they  should  lay  their  hands  upon  the  head  of  an 
elder,  but  only  should  call  him  '  Rabbi,'  and  say  to  him, '  Behold  thou  art  or- 


] 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    &LDER.  36 

the  public  teachers  and  preachers  of  the  synagogue  were  not  al- 
lowed to  enter  upon  their  work  until  they  were  ordained  to  that  par- 
ticular function,' — they  were  more  commonly  called  "  the  seniors 

dained,  and  thou  hast  power  of  judging/  &c.  Laying  on  of  hands  in  the  ordi- 
nation of  elders  was  hardly  used  at  all,  either  under  the  first  temple,  or  before 
or  under  the  second  temple.  It  was  not  under  the  second  temple,  if  we  may 
believe  the  Rabbin  newly  quoted  ;  or  at  least,  if  it  was  used,  it  was  abolished 
at  last.  And  before  the  second  temple,  where  is  there  any  sign  or  footstep  of 
such  a  thing  V 

Vitringa,  it  is  true,  is  of  opinion  that  Lightfoot  had  inferred  more  from  the 
words  of  Maimonides  than  is  becoming,(l)  and  he  therefore  thinks,  both  from 
him  and  other  Jewish  authorities  which  he  quotes,  that  there  were  two  methods 
of  induction  into  office,  one  by  imposition  of  hands  together  with  the  words 
"  ecce  tu  es  promotus," — "  and  now  behold,  be  thou  promoted," — and  another 
in  wliich  the  words  alone,  without  any  imposition  of  hands,  took  place.  This 
he  substantiates  from  the  Gemara,  when  it  is  asked,  "  whether  ordination  is 
performed  with  the  hand  only  1  He  replies,  not  so,  but  with  the  declaration 
also."  And  Tacutheus  is  quoted,  saying,  "  But  ordination  is  not  performed 
with  the  hands  only,  but  also  by  pronouncing  the  words  only  {sed  etiayn  ser- 
mone  solo)." (2)  Witsius  is  of  opinion  that  the  ordination  of  the  electors 
(electorum)  was  by  imposition  of  hands,  and  that  this  was  different  from 
that  by  which  the  senior  (senior)  was  created. (3)  And  with  this  opinion 
Vitringa  on  the  whole  agrees. (4)  He  adds,  "  Perhaps  we  may  conclude  this 
much,  that  while  the  affairs  of  the  Hebrews  flourished  in  Canaan,  the  presi- 
dents and  ministers  of  the  Synagogue  who  depended  for  their  support  upon  the 
Synagogue,  were  confirmed  in  their  office  by  imposition  of  hands." (5)  In 
short,  only  those  who  are  called  presbyters.  Rabbi  or  Doctor,  were  ordained."(6) 

^  Speaking  of  their  "  preachers,"  Lightfoot  says,  (Works,  vol.  5.  pp.  121, 
122,)  "Now  none  of  these  prementioned  were  admitted  to  this  public  employ- 
ment of  teaching  and  preaching,  but  he  was  first  ordained,  and  had  ordination, 
as  a  state-call  and  commission  to  that  office." 

"  And  they  used  to  ordain  men  to  particular  employment  in  the  public 
administration :  and  they  might  not  go  beyond  that  particular  to  which  they 
were  ordained." 

"  '  They  have  power  (saith  Maimonides)  to'appoint  whom  they  will  to  par- 


(1)  Petrus  Cunaeus  in  his  De  Repub.  Hebr.  cap.  12,  however,  takes  the  same  view  as 
Lightfoot,  and  is  quoted  with  approbation  by  the  London  miaisters  in  the  Divine  Right  of  the 
Gospel  Ministry,  Part  1,  pp.  184,  185. 

(2)  De  Vet.  Synag.  pp.  837,  838. 

(3)  Miscell.Sacr.  Lib.  ii.  Dissert  iii  Q  46.     De  Heb.  Synag. 

(4)  Ibid.  p.  838.  (5)  ibid.  p.  839. 

(6)  Bernard's  Synagogue  of  the  Church,  pp.  85,  86,  169,  183,  and  Whately's  Origin  of 
Romish  Errors',  p.  107,  oh.  ii.  §o. 


36  SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OF    THE 

and  senators  of  the  tribes,'" — and  the  officer  whose  duty  and 
privilege  it  was  to  preside  in  the  synagague,  and  either  to  preach 
himself  or  to  appoint  those  who  should,  was  denominated 
"  bishop"  or  *'  overseer, "^  and  was  required  to  be  a  doctor,  and 

ticular  matters.  As,  for  example,  there  was  an  exceeding  great  wise  man, 
that  was  fit  to  teach  all  the  law,  every  whit ;  it  was  in  the  power  of  the  San- 
hedrim to  ordain  him,  so  as  that  he  might  not  judge,  or  that  he  might  not  teach 
about  bound  and  loose  ;  or  they  might  give  him  license  to  teach  about  bound 
and  loose,  but  not  to  judge  in  matters  of  money ;  or  they  gave  him  power 
to  judge  in  this  matter,  but  not  to  judge  in  matters  of  damage,'  &c.  Thus 
curious  and  circumspect  they  were  in  and  about  the  matter  of  ordination,  and 
concerning  a  lawful  and  authoritative  designation  of  public  teachers  and  judges 
to  their  peculiar  and  particular  employment  in  the  public,  to  fix  them  within 
their  compass  and  line,  and  that  every  one  might  not  intrude  upon  what  minis- 
terial or  magisterial  ministration  he  would.  And,  therefore,  it  was  far  from 
being  a  common  use,  or  from  being  any  use  at  all,  among  the  Jews  in  their 
church,  to  let  any  mechanical,  or  uncalled  and  unordained  men,  to  step  up  into 
the  doctor's  chair,  or  minister's  pulpit,  to  read  divinity  publicly,  or  to  preach  in 
their  synagogues, — as  impudency  or  folly  would  put  them  forward  on  it ;  but 
they  had  a  solemn  state-call  or  dimission  into  such  employments,  by  a  lawful 
ordination  by  men  themselves  ordained. 

"  But  if  any  man  came  in  the  spirit  of  a  prophet,  and  took  on  him  to  preach 
under  that  notion,  he  found  permittance  under  that  notion  ;  yet  was  there  not 
imimunity  and  liberty  for  any  whosoever  to  become  preacher  upon  that  term, 
and  so  to  continue,  but  the  Sanhedrim  was  to  judge  concerning  false  prophets  ; 
and  he  that  was  not  a  prophet,  and  yet  would  be  preaching  as  a  prophet,  did 
it  at  his  own  peril.  This,  then,  was  that  that  procured  our  Saviour  liberty  to 
preach,  and  audience  to  his  preaching,  in  every  synagogue  where  he  came  ; 
because  he  came  not  only  in  the  name,  but  also  in  the  visible  power  and  dem- 
onstration of  a  prophet,  doing  such  wondrous  signs  and  miracles,  as  that  his 
prophetic  call  could  not  be  denied,  but  he  was  glorified  of  all." 

^  See  Lightfoot's  Works,  vol.  viii.  p.  72,  and  vol.  iii.  p.  242. 

^  Thus  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  speaking  of  the  city  of  Ispahan,  says,  (see  Vi- 
tringa,  de  Synagog.  Vet.  lib.  ii.  cap.  iii.,  and  lib.  i.  cap.  xi.,and  Bernard's  Syna- 
gogue and  the  Church,  pp.  146,  147,  and  p.  197,  and  especially  pp.  101,  102,) 
"where  there  were  fifteen  thousand  Jews,  that  excellent  Doctor  Sarschalon, 
who  is  the  bishop,  lives  there."  Speaking  of  another  city,  he  says,  "  In  it  are 
fifty  thousand  Jews,  and  Rabbi  Obadiah  is  their  bishop.  The  same  name  is 
given  to  the  pastors  of  the  modern  Synagogue." 

"  Besides  these,"  says  Lightfoot,  "  there  was  the  public  minister  of  ihc  Syna- 
gogue, who  prayed  publicly,  and  took  care  about  ibe  reading  of  the  law,  and 
sometimes  preached,  if  there  were  not  some  other  to  discharge  this  office.  This 
person  was  called  '  the  Angel  of  the  Church,'  and  '  The  Chazan  or  bishop  of  the 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  37 

one  who  had  ministered  unto  a  doctor,  before  he  could  become 
eligible  to  the  office/  It  is  thus  apparent,  first,  that  the  senators 
in  the  Jewish  synagogue  were  not  preachers  or  teachers,  though 
like  many  other  individuals  they  might  be  called  upon  to  speak 
unto  the  people  ;  secondly,  that  the  preacher  was  exclusively  de- 
nominated overseer,  angel,  and  bishop,  although  as  a  ruler  he  was 
at  the  same  time  an  elder,  the  greater  including  the  less ;  and 
thirdly,  that  imposition  of  hands  was  confined  to  the  overseers 
and  bishops  of  the  synagogue. ^  The  presumption,  therefore, 
which  exists  against  that  interpretation  of  the  terms  presbyter 
and  bishop  in  the  New  Testament,  which  makes  them  applicable 
to  the  mere  "  ruling  elder ^^  or  representative  of  the  people,  re- 
mains in  all  its  force,  if  it  is  not  greatly  strengthened  by  an  appeal 
to  the  government  of  the  synagogue. 

And  hence  Vitringa  is  led  to  exclaim,  in  alluding  to  the 
supposition  we  are  controverting,  in  thclight  of  his  most  learned 
and  thorough  investigation  into  the  constitution  of  the  Jewish 
synagogue  :  *'  And  can  any  one   then  dare  seriously  to  assert 


Congregation.'  The  Aruch  gives  the  reason  of  the  name.  The  Chazan  (says 
he)  is  the  Angel  of  the  Churcli,  (or  the  public  minister,)  and  the  Targum  ren- 
ders the  word  riN';^  by  the  word  t^t'^n,  one  that  oversees  ;  for  it  is  incumbent  on 
him  to  oversee,  how  the  reader  reads,  and  whom  he  may  call  out  to  read  in  the 
law."  The  public  minister  of  the  synagogue  himself  read  not  the  law  publicly  ; 
but  every  Sabbath  he  called  out  seven  of  the  synagogue  (on  other  days,  fewer) 
whom  he  judged  fit  to  read.  He  stood  by  him  that  read,  with  great  care  ob- 
serving that  he  read  nothing  either  falsely  or  improperly, — and  calling  him  back 
and  correcting  him  if  he  hkd  failed  in  any  thing.  And  hence  he  Avas  called  pij-i 
that  is  ezt(TKOTTos,  or  '  Overseer.'  Certainly  the  signification  of  the  word  'Bish- 
op,' or  '  Angel  of  the  Church,'  had  been  determined  with  less  noise,  if  recourse 
had  been  made  to  the  upper  fountains, — and  men  had  not  vainly  disputed  about 
the  signification  of  words,  taken  I  know  not  whence.  The  service  and  worship 
of  the  temple  being  abolished  as  being  ceremonial,  God  transplanted  the  wor- 
ship and  public  adoration  of  God  used  in  the  Synagogues,  which  was  moral, 
into  the  Christian  Church, — to  wit,  the  public  ministry,  public  prayers,  reading 
God's  word,  and  preaching,  &c.  Hence  the  names  of  the  Ministers  of  the 
Gospel  were  the  very  same, — '  the  Angel  of  the  Church,'  and  '  the  Bishop,' — 
which  belonged  to  the  Ministers  in  the  Synagogues." — (Lightfoot's  Works,  vol. 
ii.  pp.  88,  89,  and  Bernard's  Synagogue,  ch.  x.) 

^  See  Vitringa  and  Bernard  as  above. 

*  See  do.  do.  lib.  i.  cap.  ix.  and  Bernard's  Synagogue,  p.  84,  and  o.  58. 


38  SCRIPTUn.*.L    VIEW    OF    THE 

and  to  defend  the  position,  that  to  these  lay  ciders  the  name  of 
bishop  or  the  name  of  ^ft.sj^or  can  be  appropriated?  And  if  no 
one  can  so  dare,  then  the  question  is  settled  concerning  them, 
since  no  other  presbyters  are  acknowledged  or  constituted  in  the 
church  by  the  apostles,  except  those  who  are  at  the  same  time 
PASTORS  AND  BISHOPS."  "It  is  therefore,"  he  concludes,  "  cer- 
tain and  indubitable  that  the  term  presbyters,  in  the  writings  of 
the  Apostles,  means  one  and  the  same  thing  with  pastors  and 
bishops."^ 

This  presumption  is  further  confirmed  by  the  fact,  that  in  all 
the  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  the  term  presbyter  occurs, 
(omitting  for  the  present  the  disputed  passage  in  1  Timothy  5  : 
17,)  it  evidently  refers  to  the  principal,  and  in  many  cases  to  the 
only  officer  at  that  time  appointed  in  the  infant  churches,'^  which 
must  of  course  refer  to  the  preacher  rather  than  to  the  mere  ruler 
of  the  people.  (Acts  14:  23.  Phil.  1:1.  Titus  1  :  5-9,  &c.) 
The  only  objection  of  any  force  to  this  position,  is  that  on  which 
Dr.  Miller  seems  mainly  to  rely,  namely,  that  this  view  of  the 
meaning  of  this  term  would  imply  the  existence  of  a  plurality  of 
teachers  in  connection  with  one  church.  But  this,  instead  of 
being  an  objection,  is,  on  the  contrary,  an  argument  in  favor  of 
our  interpretation ;  for  that  such  really  was  the  fact  cannot  be 
questioned.  In  the  Synagogue  the  general  rule  was  that  there 
should  be  a  plurality  of  the  chief  rulers  or  bishops,  and  the  ex- 
ception to  this  rule  was  the  existence  of  only  one.^  That  such 
was  the  case  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour  is  most  certain.  We 
have  evidence  that  there  were  many  rulers  in  the  one  Synagogue 
who  of  course  formed  a  council.  Thus  the  Evangelist  Luke, 
speaking  of  St.  Paul  and  his  companions,  says,  *'  they  came  to 
Antioch  in  Pisidia,  and  went  into  the  synagogue  on  the  sabbath 

^  De  Synag.  Vet.  pp.  484,  485.  And  if  any  one  can  judge  on  this  point, 
surely  Vitringa  with  his  disposition  to  sustain  ruling  elders,  (see  page  484,) 
and  his  immense  learning,  both  in  Jewish  and  patristical  lore,  was  the  man. 

^  It  deserves,  hov/ever,  to  be  remarked,  that  there  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  any  ruling  elders  in  the  church  session  of  Antioch."  Bib.  Repert.  1843, 
p.  327.     See  also  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  174,  &c.  and  Phil.  1  :    1. 

^  See  proofs  of  this  given  from  .Jewish  writers  in  Vitringa,  lib.  i,  cap.  vi., 
and  p.  874,  and  Bernard,  pp.  56-58.  There  were  always  two  in  each  Synagogue 
who  could  teach,  &c. — Lightfoot,  vol.  v.  p.  119. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  39 

day,  and  sat  down;  and  after  the  reading  of  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  the  rulers  of  the  synagogue  sent  unto  them."  Now 
these  rulers,  as  far  as  we  can  judge  from  the  context,  were  equal 
in  rank,  dignity,  and  office,  and  constituted,  most  probably,  the 
presbytery  of  the  synagogue  of  Antioch.  In  another  chapter  the 
same  Evangelist  mentions  by  name  two  of  the  rulers  of  the  syna- 
gogue at  Corinth,  viz.  Crispus  and  Sosthenes.  The  Evangelist 
Mark  informs  us  that  Jairus  was  one  of  the  rulers  of  the  syna- 
gogue at  Capernaum.  The  New  Testament,  then,  confirms  our 
view  of  the  government  of  the  synagogue  ;  and  though  we  meet 
with  passages  in  which  but  the  one  ruler  is  mentioned,  still  this 
does  not  subvert  our  position  ;  the  government  of  the  synagogue 
being  sometimes  confided  to  one  Rabbi. ^ 

That  such  was  the  case  in  the  apostolic  churches  also,  there  is 
abundant  evidence  to  prove.  The  church  at  Jerusalem  was  gov- 
erned for  many  years  by  the  college  of  presbyters  constituted  by 
the  Apostles.2  There  was  a  plurality  of  "  bishops"  in  the 
church  at  Philippi.  (Phil.  1  :  1.)  There  were  several  teachers 
in  the  church  at  Antioch.  (Acts  13:  I,  &c.)  And  that  we  may 
not  delay,  there  were  many  bishops  in  the  church  at  Ephesus. 
(Acts  20.) 

Conformable  to  this  was  the  practice  of  the  early  churches. 
For  while  in  many  cases,  as  in  that  of  Gregory  Thaumaturgus, 
whose  congregation  numbered  seventeen  persons,  there  was  only 
one  bishop,  or  presbyter,  yet  generally  a  plurality  did  in  fact  ex- 
ist, and  were  very  necessary,  when  we  consider  the  circumstan- 
ces of  the  church  at  that  time,  and  its  relations  to  the  infidel  world 
around  it.  And  as  to  support,  we  know  that  all  the  officers  were 
provided  for  out  of  a  common  stock  ;  that  the  weekly  collections 

^  See  Vitringa,  p.  874. 

2  Professor  Jameson  in  his  "  Sum  of  the  Episcopal  Controversy,"  p.  87, 
says,  '*'  that  as  no  kirk  was  subject  to  another,  so  no  pastor  was  subject  to  an- 
other, but  that  the  pastors  in  every  particular  kirk  were  associated  into  presby- 
teries, and  did  act  in  complete  parity."  "  And  now,"  he  adds,  "  there  was  in 
Jerusalem  a  fully  organized  kirk,  a  kirk  enjoying  both  bishops  and  deacons,  the 
only  proper  hirkmen,  so  to  speak,  and  officers  of  Christ's  appointment  ;"  p.  89, 
he  adds,  "  there  were  doubtless  also,  at  this  time  in  the  kirk  diverse  grave  and 
venerable  men,  chosen  from  among  the  people  to  represent  them,  and  assist  the 
pastors."     See  also  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  pp.  28,  36,  41. 


40  SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OF    THE 

for  this  purpose  were  very  liberal;  that  many  supported  them- 
selves out  of  their  own  resources;  that  r/iany  followed  in  part 
some  lucrative  employment;  that  the  presbyters  all  lived  togeth- 
er, with  their  president ;  and  that  their  mode  of  living  was  at 
first  strictly  economical. 

Jerome,  speaking  of  this  subject,  says  :  "  The  smallness  of 
their  number  makes  the  deacons  honorable,  the  crowd  of  pres- 
byters makes  them  contemptible."  Eusebius  informs  us,  that 
about  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  there  were  in  the  church 
of  Rome  forty-six  presbyters,  and  but  seven  deacons.  And  so 
far  did  the  abuse  proceed,  that  the  Emperor  Justinian  found  it 
necessary  to  limit  the  number  of  presbyters,  permitting  no  more 
than  sixty  to  be  ordained  for  the  church  of  Constantinople. 

And  however  this  practice  was  abused,  as  it  undoubtedly  was 
in  after  times,  we  can  easily  understand  its  wisdom  and  propriety 
in  the  first  age  of  Christianity.  For  at  that  time  all  were  ene- 
mies and  none  friends  to  the  cause.  Danger  was  therefore  im- 
minent, trials  manifold,  comforts  few,  and  support  scanty.  By  liv- 
ing together,  several  bishops  could  constitute  a  common  council,  a 
bond  of  union  and  of  strength,  a  source  of  consolation,  and  an  eco- 
nomical household.^  From  these  centres  of  influence  they  could 
make  the  word  of  God  to  sound  forth  into  all  the  region  round 
about ;  and  from  time  to  time,  as  circumstances  warranted,  they 
could  plant  other  churches  and  settle  other  presbyters  over  them. 
And  when  any  country  had  become  Christianized,  and  the  ne- 
cessity for  such  concentration  was  removed,  we  can  as  easily 
perceive,  how  the  members  of  this  common  council  or  presbytery 
would  be  separated  and  fixed  over  their  respective  churches, 
which  they  would  govern  in  connexion  with  their  respective  offi- 
cers. Thus  naturally  would  arise  the  present  form  of  our  free 
presbyteries,  the  several  members  living  apart  but  acting  in  com- 
mon and  in  stated  assemblies  ;  and  thus  also  do  we  see  how  neces- 
sity, as  in  the  case  of  our  missionary  brethren,  or  persecution 
and  danger,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Jlefoniaers,  again  leads  to  the 
concentrated  form  of  the  original  and  apostolic  presbytery. 

'  The  clergy  in  England  continued  to  live  together  in  communities  to  a  late 
period.  See  Barnes'  Eccl.  Law,  vol.  3,  page  398.  And  this  we  know  was  the 
custom  of  the  Culdees,  both  in  Scotland  ard  in  Ireland. 


OFFICE     OF    RULING    ELDEK,  41 

These  facts  are  essential  to  the  proper  understanding  of  the 
polity  of  the  New  Testament  churches,  and  the  manner  in  which 
prelacy  could  so  insidiously  and  "  by  little  and  little,"  as  Jerome 
says  {])anlcitim) ,  creep  into  the  church.^  For  just  as  in  the 
Synagogue  one  of  the  overseers  must  necessarily  have  presided, 
so  in  the  apostolic  churches  one  would  be  chosen  as  president 
and  stated  pastor  of  the  local  church,  while  the  others  labored  as 
missionaries  or  evangelists  in  the  surrounding  country,  in  the 
same  way  as  we  still  have  our  moderators  or  presidents  of  pres- 
byteries which  have  been  in  some  cases  made  permanent.^  But 
as  the  establishment  of  this  point  is  of  great  importance  to  our 
argument,  we  would  here  adduce  what  we  have  said  elsewhere 
upon  this  point. 

Such  is  the  view  given  of  the  apostolic  churches  by  Arch- 
bishop Potter,  who  allows  that  there  was  a  college  of  presbyters 
ordained  over  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  who  were  plainly  con- 
cerned in  the  care  of  the  church.^  'Our  fourth  proposition,' 
says  Grotius,  *  is  this,  that  this  episcopacy  is  approved  by  divine 
law,  or  as  Bucer  says,  it  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost  that 
one  among  the  prcsbT/ters  should  be  charged  with  a  peculiar 
care.'^ 

In  the  absence  of  the  apostles,  the  presbyters,  as  we  have 
seen,  were  accustomed  to  preside  in  the  church  at  Jerusalem. ^ 
The  presbyters  of  the  church  of  Antioch  must  also  have  had 
one  of  their  number  to  act  as  president  when  they  were  assem- 
bled together  for  the  ordination  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.^  Such 
appears  to  have  been  the  general  practice  of  the  churches,  in  all 
of  which,  according  to  the  necessity  of  the  case,  there  were  a 
plurality  of  presb}ters,  one  of  their  number  being  elected  to 
preside  in  their  councils  ;  a  custom  which  is  still  maintained  in 
all  its  original  simplicity  by  Presbyterians. 

^  This  point  is  urged  with  much  force  by  Vitringa  de  Syn.  Vet.  See  p.  488, 
474,  8G4. 

2  See  the  author's  Lectures  on  the  Apostolic  Succession,  p.  42. 

3  On  Ch.  Gov't,  c.  3,  p.  107,  Eng.  edition. 

4  Sacra,  c.  11. 

^  See  Lord  Barrington's  Works,  vol.  ii.  pp.  165,  175.     Also  Benson  on  the 
Relig.  Worship  of  the  Christians,  c.  3,  §  2,  p.  83. 
'  Actsxiii.  1,  &c.     See  Presbyteiy,  &c.  ch.  vii. 


43  SCRIPTUIir.L    TIEW    OP    THE 

A  plurality  of  bishops,  presbyters,  or  governors,  says  Blon- 
del,  existed  at  one  and  the  same  time,  in  one  and  the  same 
church.  He  further  supposes  that  these  pastors,  or  bishops, 
were  all  indued  with  equal  power  and  honor;  that  the  eldest 
minister,  by  virtue  of  his  seniority,  was  constantly  the  moder- 
ator amoncT  his  colleague  presbyters ;  that  this  moderator  was 
subject  to  the  power  of  the  presbytery,  and  obeyed  its  com- 
mands, with  no  less  submission  than  did  the  meanest  of  their 
number;  and  that  while  he  had  chief  power  in  the  college,  he 
had  properly  no  power  over  it  or  independently  of  it.^ 

That  officers  of  this  kind  might  be  expected  in  the  apostolic 
churches  would  appear  from  the  fact  that  such  chairmen,  presi- 
dents, or  moderators,  are  necessary  in  all  assemblies,  where 
several  have  a  right  to  speak,  and  are  therefore  constantly  ap- 
pointed. There  was,  we  know,  such  an  order  of  presidents 
among  the  presbyters  who  managed,  in  common,  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs  of  the  synagogue.^  These  are  several  times  intro- 
duced to  our  notice  in  the  sacred  volume,  as  presi^ling  in  the 
Jewish  synagogues,  and  as  giving  liberty  to  preach.^  And  it 
would  appear  to  be  very  probable,  that  Peter  was  president, 
chairman,  or  speaker  in  the  college  of  the  apostles,^  and  also  in 
the  church  of  Jerusalem,  in  which  the  twelve  apostles  acted  con- 
jointly, and  among  whore,  until  their  dispersion,  Veiex  probably 
acted  as  moderator.^ 

Such  officers,  therefore,  would  naturally  suggest  themselves 
to  the  apostolic  churches,  especially  as  our  Saviour  had  directed 
them  to  the  synagogue  for  their  exemplar.^     And  when  we  con- 

»  Apol.  Prjefat,  pp.  G,  1,  18,  .35.  See  Jameson's  Cyp.  Isot.  pp.  231.  232, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  77,78.  See  also  Goode's  Divine  Rule  of  Faith,  ch.  viii.  This 
writer  denies  that  any  thing  more  can  be  proved  from  Scripture  or  from  primi- 
tive antiquity. 

'  See  this  position  fully  sustained  by  Vitringa  de  Vet.  Synagog.  lib.  iii,  c.  9, 
p.  727,  &c.  Reland's  Antiq.  Jennings'  Jewish  Antiq.  vol.  ii.  pp.  54,  55,  b. 
ii.  c.  i.  Also  in  Gillespie's  Ch.  of  Scotland,  part  i.e.  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  and 
9  ;  and  in  a  Confut.  of  I.  S.  Vind.  of  the  Princ.  of  the  Cypr.  Age,  p.  151.  Bax- 
ter's Treatise  on  Episcopacy,  p.  13,  §  19. 

'  Acts  13  :  15  ;  Luke  13  :  14;  Acts  18  :  8  and  17. 

*  Whately's  Kint^dom  of  Christ,  Essay  ii.  §  7,  p.  72. 

*  Peirce's  Vind.  of  Presb.  Ordin.  part  ii.  p.  88,  and  elsewhere. 
«  Matt.  18. 


OFFICE    OF    RULIN«    ELDER.  43 

sider  the  variety  of  gifts  then  enjoyed  by  the  church,  and  the 
number  who  would  have  a  consequent  right  to  speak,  and  how 
much  of  the  edification  of  the  church  depended  on  the  order 
with  which  such  persons  spoke,  judged,  prophesied,  prayed,  sung, 
and  exercised  their  gifts  generally,  we  will  understand  how 
necessary  and  useful  this  office  then  was  in  all  their  meetings.^ 
Such  an  officer  was  no  less  important  for  the  hearing  and  decid- 
ing of  all  the  controversies  about  worldly  matters  which  arose 
among  the  brethren  ;  to  give  advice  in  all  difficult  cases  ;2  to 
watch  over  the  general  order ;  to  guard  against  abuses  ;  to  ad- 
monish the  faulty  ;  and  to  guide  the  public  deliberations.^  In 
the  beginning,  therefore,  one  of  the  bishops  or  presbyters  pre- 
sided, under  the  title  of  proestos  senior  prohatus,  &lc.,  that  is, 
the  president  or  approved  elder.  In  the  second  century  they 
began  to  give  this  officer  exclusively  the  title  of  bishop,  calling 
the  other  bishops  presbyters  or  elders,  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  stated  president.^  In  this  way  the  Scriptures  and  the 
primitive  fathers  are  harmonized,  and  the  gradual  introduction 
of  the  doctrine  of  prelacy  is  made  apparent  and  easy,  the  pre- 
late being  the  chief  presbyter,  and  the  other  presbyters  his 
colleagues.^ 

Allusion  appears  to  be  made  to  such  presidents  or  modera- 
tors, in  several  passages  of  the  New  Testament.  They  are  re- 
ferred to  in  that  passage  already  considered,  where  the  apostle 
says,  '  the  spirits  of  the  prophets  (that  is,  says  lord  Barrington, 
of  some   of  the  prophets)  are  subject  to  the  (other)-  prophets.'^ 

^  Lord  Barrington's  Works,  vol.  i.pp.  85,86.  The  same  view  is  presented 
by  Forbes,  in  his  Irenicum,  pp.  242,  24.3,  245.     In  Baxter  on  Episc.  p.  70. 

'  See  Macknight's  Com.  on  1  Tim.  5 :  17,  vol.  iii.  p.  205,  where  the  duties 
of  such  an  officer  are  fully  described.  Benson,  in  his  Essay  on  the  Public  Wor- 
ship of  the  Early  Christians,  very  fully  establishes  the  fact  of  such  presiding  offi- 
cers. See  Paraphrase  on  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  pp.  117, 119,  c.  3,  §  1,  §  3,  and 
§6. 

3  Neandefs  Hist,  of  the  First  Planting  of  Christianity,  vol.  i.  pp.  169,  170. 

*  See  Boyse's  Anct.  Episcopacy,  Pref.  p.  ix.  and  Neander's  Hist,  of  the 
First  Plant,  of  Christianity,  pp.  169,  170.  Also  Goode's  Div.  Rule  of  Faith, 
vol.  ii.  p.  77. 

*  Benson  on  ReUg.  Worship  of  Christians,  c.  iii.  §  6,  p.  95. 
«  1  Cor.  14:  32. 


44  SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OP    THB 

*  It  is  most  natural  to  think  the  full  meaning  of  this  place  to  be 
that  the  spirits  of  the  prophets,  who  prophesied  or  exhorted, 
were,  when  duly  regulated,  subject  to  the  prophets  who  pre- 
sided.' ^  Spiritual  gifts,  as  we  know,  were  very  generally  bestowed 
upon  the  members  of  the  church  of  Corinth.'  Their  possess- 
ors, as  we  are  also  informed,  were  apt  to  put  the  public  assem- 
blies into  confusion  by  their  disorderly  exercise ;  by  their  strife 
and  emulation  ;  and  by  all  speaking  together,  and  in  unknown 
tongues.^  The  apostle,  therefore,  directs  that  they  should  speak 
one  by  one  :  that  whilst  one  spake  the  others  should  sit  still  and 
judge  ;  and  that  the  spirits  of  those  who  were  led  to  exercise 
their  gifts,  should  be  subject  to  those  who  presided. 

The  Thessalonians  also  enjoyed  a  large  measure  of  these 
spiritual  gifts/  and  stood  in  need  of  the  same  wise  direction. 
We  learn,  too,  that  there  was  a  synagogue  in  Thessalonica,^  and 
that  some  of  the  Jews  received  the  gospel,  and  united  in  form- 
ing a  Christian  church,  in  connection  with  a  great  multitude  of 
those  Gentiles  who  had  become  proselytes  of  the  gate,  and  wor- 
shippers of  the  one  only  and  true  God.*^  It  is  also  probable,  that 
their  teachers  were  converts  from  Judaism,  or,  at  least,  prose- 
lyted Gentiles.  But  if  so,  they  had  been  all  accustomed  to  the 
ecclesiastical  government  of  a  number  of  presbyters,  with  a 
president  who  moderated  their  proceedings,  and  would  naturally, 
therefore,  adopt  this  plan  as  the  policy  of  their  church.  Some 
of  the  church,  however,  appear  to  have  refused  to  subject  them- 
selves to  their  teachers,  and  to  this  plan  of  discipline,  and  gave 
themselves  up  to  disorder,  and  confusion,  under  the  pretence  of 
edifying   others.      The    apostle,  therefore,    beseeches   them    to 

*  know,'  reverence,  and  respect,  '  those  that  labor  among  them,' 
as  their  stated  ministers,  *  and  are  over  (or  preside  over)  you,' 
that  is,  says  Doddridge,  those  *  who  preside  over  your  assem- 
blies, and  moderate  in  them.'^  In  this  vvay,  the  apostle  admon- 
ishes them  to  *  be  at  peace  among  themselves/  and  *  to  warn 
them  that  are  unruly,'  or  disorderly,  proudly  refusing,  like  sol- 

'  Lord  Barrington's  Works,  p.  8-1.     ^  See  the  Epistles.     ^  1  Cor.  c.  14. 

4  Acts  17:  4  ;  1  Thess.  5:  19-21  ;  Barrington,  p.  84. 

5  Acts  18:   1.  «  Acts  17. 
'  In  loco.  Note. 


OITICE    OP    RULING    ELDRR.  45 

diers  who  will  not  keep  their  ranks  or  know  their  colors,  to  con- 
cur with  the  arrangements  of  their  overseers.  The  apostle  here 
appears  to  distinguish  the  presbyters  into  three  classes:  1, 
those  who  labored,  that  is,  for  the  extension  of  the  church 
by  the  conversion  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  ;  2,  those  who  presided 
or  governed  in  all  its  domestic  services  and  worship ;  and  3, 
those  who,  while  the  others  presided  and  governed,  were  em- 
ployed in  the  instruction  and  admonition  of  the  assembled 
Christians.  He  therefore  in  effect  exhorted  them,  '  to  take  care 
that  their  presbyters  be  supplied  with  every  necessary,  first 
of  all  those  among  them  who,  with  all  their  might,  labored 
to  propagate  the  faith  of  Christ  in  the  country  around,  and  in 
the  next  place  those  who  governed  the  church,  and  admonished 
and  instructed  them  by  their  voice  and  example.'^ 

Allusion  is  probably  made  to  the  same  office,  in  the  epistle 
to  the  church  at  Rome,  which  was  in  a  great  measure  composed 
of  converted  Jews  or  proselytes,  who  then  swarmed  in  Rome. 
For  in  reference  to  the  diversity  of  spiritual  gifts,  and  the  various 
modes  of  ministry  which  they  occasioned,  the  apostle  says,  '  he 
that  ruleth  let  him  do  it  with  diligence.'^  The  original  word 
[ngo'i(TTafievog)  means,  unquestionably,  '  he  who  presides,'  and 
refers  to  ecclesiastical  office.  Some  of  the  presbyters  v.'ere 
teachers,  and  others  rulers,  or  presidents,  according  to  their 
gifts.  Those  that  were  called  to  exercise  the  office  of  ruler  or 
president,  were  required  to  do  it  with  attention  and  zeal.  The 
word,  which  thus  plainly  refers  to  ecclesiastical  office,  and  to 
some  office  of  presidency  in  the  church,  is  as  certainly  used  in 
1  Thess.  5 :  12,  and  in  1  Tim.  3  :  4,  12,  to  designate  those  who 
held  the  office  of  teacher.  And  hence  it  would  appear,  that  in 
the  apostolic  churches  there  were  those  who  held  the  double  of- 
fice of  teacher,  and  governor  or  president.^ 

A  similar  allusion  is  made  in  1  Cor.  12  :  28,  where  the  apostle, 
in  an  enumeration  of  the  same  diversified  ministers,  both  extra- 
ordinary  and   ordinary,  speaks  of  governments   {y.vijsgvr^asig)  as 

^  Mosheira  Comment,  on  the  AfF.  of  Christ,  before  Constantine,  vol.  i.  pp. 
217,  218,  Vidal. 

'  Rom.  12:  8.  '  See  Stuart's  Comment,  in  loco. 


45  SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OP    THE 

corresponding  to  those  that  preside  or  rule.  This  word,  also, 
means  guidance,  direction,  steering,  as  in  the  case  of  the  pilot  of 
a  ship.  Hence,  many  critics  understand  it  here,  as  designating 
the  office  of  a  ruler  or  president  in  the  church.  Nor  can  we 
see  any  strength  in  the  objection  urged  against  this  interpreta- 
tion, founded  on  the  low  place  the  office  is  made  to  assume,  see- 
ing it  was  but  the  exercise  of  the  office  of  teacher,  already  men- 
tioned, in  this  particular  way  of  occasional,  or  stated  superintend- 
ence and  direction.  It  is,  therefore,  purposely  classed  by  the 
apostle  among  the  lowest  offices,  and  such  as  were  mutable,  that 
it  might  not  be  exalted  into  a  distinct  and  separate  order,  or  be 
supposed  to  imply  prerogatives  superior  to  those  of  the  teachers 
in  general.' 

The  same  allusion  would  appear  to  be  made  by  the  apostle, 
in  writing  to  the  Hebrew  converts  throughout  the  world,  *  Re- 
member them  who  have  the  rule  over  you,  ('r]/oi'fi£vovg,)  and  who 
have  spoken  unto  you  the  word  of  God.'  '  Obey  them  that  have 
the  rule  over  you,  (zoig  Tj/ovfisvoig,)  and  submit  yourselves,  for  they 
watch  for  your  souls,  as  they  that  must  give  account.^ 

Pamelius,  commentator  of  Tertullian,  in  reference  to  this 
passage  in  which  he  says  that  "  certain  approved  seniors  pre- 
side," says  :  "  Those,  he  says,  preside  who  by  all  the  Greeks  are 
called  preshytcriy  but  by  us  seniors  ;  that  is,  not  all,  but  those 
who  are  approved  by  the  testimony  of  all. "^ 

We  are  now  prepared  to  consider  the  meaning  of  that  pas- 
sage in  1  Tim.  5  :  17,  which  is  supposed  to  be  decisive  of  the 
question  as  to  the  application  to  ruling  elders  of  the  title  of  pres- 
byters. 


^  This  is  the  main  objection  of  Stuart,  who  gives  one  view  in  his  text,  and 
the  opposite  in  an  elaborate  excursus.  Our  view  of  this  passage  is  that  taken 
by  Mr.  Thorndike,  who  says,  "  Those  of  the  presbyters  who  preached  not,  are 
here  called  by  the  apostle  governments,,  and  the  deacon's  helps,  or  assistants,  to 
the  government  of  presbyters  ;  so  that  it  is  not  to  be  translated  helps  in  govern- 
ments, but  helps  and  governments,"  since  "  there  were  two  sorts  of  the  presby- 
ter's office  in  teaching  and  governing, the  one  whereof  some  attained  not,  even 
in  the  apostles'  times." — Prim.  Govt,  in  Jameson's  Cyp.  p.  .550. 

2  Heb.  13:   1,  and  17. 

'  S«ie  quoted  in  loco,  and  in  .Jameson's  Cnldees. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  47 

"  Let  the  pTesbyters  who  rule  well,"  {ngomTbn^q  ngfa^vTsgoi,) 
that  is,  who  preside  well,  directing  and  managing  the  public 
worship,  and  the  other  interests  of  the  church,  "  be  counted 
worthy  of  double  honor,  (or  stipend,)  especially  they  who  (be- 
sides these  duties,  continue  zealously  to)  labor  in  word  and  doc- 
trine." It  here  appears  that  there  were  two  departments  in 
which  presbyters  might  render  service  to  the  church ;  they 
might  be  especially  devoted  to  the  business  of  teaching  and 
preaching,  or  they  might  be  appointed  presidents,  {TrgoEdTojifg.) 
standing  over,  taking  care  of,  serving  and  moderating  the  coun- 
cils of  the  church ;  so  that,  whilst  teaching  and  preaching,  they 
might  also  in  their  turn,  or  when  so  required,  act  as  presidents 
or  moderators.  It  is  thus  that  Maimonides,  in  his  work  on  the 
Sanhedrim,  describes  the  bishop  of  the  synagogue,  to  which  the 
apostle  here  doubtless  alludes,  as  ''  the  presbyter  who  labored  in 
word  and  doctrine,"  employing,  as  it  were  the  very  words  of  the 
apostle,  and  proving  that  the  same  presbyter  who  taught,  might 
also  preside  or  rule.  Hence,  Neander  says,  "that  while  all  the 
ministers  of  the  synagogue  were  called  elders,  those  who  presid- 
ed were  called,  among  other  names,  by  this  very  title  of  nQosuTOizsg. 
Milton  also  shows,  that  itQOitnMg  is  nothing  else  than  presiding 
presbyter. 

All  presbyters,  it  is  to  be  observed,  were  thus  officially  enti- 
tled to  rule  or  preside,  and  at  first  they  may  have  done  so  alter- 
nately, since  they  are  always  spoken  of  in  the  plural,  until  the 
rule  was  adopted,  that  the  senior  presbyter  should  statedly  pre- 
side. But  some  presbyters  were  not  qualified  to  teach  well, 
though  well  adapted  to  preside  and  take  charge  of  the  local 
church,  and  if  found  able  and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  this 
duty,  they  were,  says  the  apostle,  worthy  of  honor. 

The  term  ngoearaK,  and  the  kindred  words  in  1  Thess.  5:12, 
and  Heb.  13 :  7,  17,  are  therefore  regarded  by  Gillespie,  who 
was  a  leading  member  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  as  ordinary 
titles  of  the  ordained  pastor  or  minister  of  the  church.^  And  it 
is  a  further  confirmation  of  this  meaning  of  the  word,  that  the 
term  priest,  which  has  never  been  thought  to  refer  to  any  officer 

'  Miscellany  Questions,  ch.  ii.  §  7,  p.  22. 


4S  SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OF    THE 

but  the  ordiiined  minister,^  "  cometh,  we  know,"  says  Cart- 
wright,'^  "  not  of  sacerdos  ;  but  that  it  cometh  of  presbyter, 
for  in  Greek  ngosaimg  approacheth  far  nearer  unto  priest  than 
7tQs<j(3vTSQog.  In  Latin  the  word  procses  (that  may  be  so  called  of 
pra2est)  is  much  nearer  priest  than  presbyter.  And  as  for  the 
French  and  Italian,  considering  that  they  are  daughters  of  the 
Latin  tongue,  from  whence  commonly  they  are  derived,  it  is  ap- 
parent that  they  are  rather  derived  of  the  words  before  mentioned, 
which  are  natural  Latin  words,  than  of  presbyter,  which  is  Greek 
born,  howsoever  it  is  (by  use)  devised  in  the  Latin  tongue." 
Presbyter  and  bishop  were  therefore  both  of  them  titles  of  the 
Christian  minister,  and  in  their  distinctive  meaning  applied  only 
to  them  ;  the  term  presbyter  being  adopted  from  the  Jewish  syna- 
gogue, and  the  term  bishop  from  the  Greek  language.^ 

All  the  presbyters  here  spoken  of,  were  therefore 
teachers,  and  called  to  minister  in  word  and  doctrine. 
The  qualifications  necessary  for  a  teacher  are,  we  have  seen, 
every  where  re  {uired  by  this  same  apostle,  of  presbyters  or  bish- 
ops, (1  Tim.  3  :  2,  Titus  1  :  9,  &/C.)  when  he  sets  himself  expli- 
citly and  fully  to  define  the  oflSce  and  duties  of  the  presbyter  ; 
and  therefore  we  must  carry  these  explicit  definitions  of  the 
office  into  the  interpretation  of  the  present  passage.  The  term 
presbyters  here,  therefore,  must  refer  to  teachers,  since  we  have 
in  the  previous  history  heard  of  no  others ;  and  the  fact  that  all 
are  also  characterized  as  those  that  "  rule,"  is  in  no  way  inconsis- 
tent with  this  view,  since  we  have  proved  that  this  function  of  gov- 
ernment or  jurisdiction,  as  well  as  that  of  teaching,  belongs  to  all 


^  In  its  present  acceptation,  this  word,  as  synonymous  with  sacerdos,  is 
most  dangerous  and  heretical,  since  it  implies  the  oflering  of  sacrifice.  The 
word  (£jO£u?,  of  which  it  is  a  translation,  is  never  therefore,  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament applied  to  its  ministers,  but  only  to  the  Jewish  or  Pagan  priests.  There 
is  no  priest  under  the  New  Testament,  except  Christ  its  head,  who  is  a  priest 
for  ever.  See  on  this  subject  Cartwright's  Confut.  of  the  Rhemists  on  Acts 
14 :  22,  p.  292.  See  also  Whately  on  Romish  Errors,  and  in  many  other 
places. 

2  Do.  do. 

3  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  pp.  37,  109,  110,  and  Coleman's  Primitive 
Church,  p.  20. 


OFFICE    OP    RULING    ELDER.  49 

the  teaching  presbyters  or  bishops.'  The  capacity  to  teach  and 
to  rule  belongs  to  all  presbyters,  and  is,  we  think,  attributed 
to  all  in  this  passage.  And  the  emphasis  and  distinction  implied 
in  the  word  "  especially, ^^  must  refer  not  to  any  distinction  of  or- 
der or  office,  but  of  appointment  and  labor.  Those  presbyters 
— whose  function  it  is  to  teach  and  to  rule — who  at  the  sacri- 
fice of  all  ease  and  comfort,  and  in  the  face  of  danger  and  death, 
go  forth  among  the  heathen  around,  and  there  "  labor "  and 
toil  in  preaching  to  such  hardened  and  blaspheming  enemies 
*'  the  word  and  doctrine,"  these,  says  the  apostle,  are  "  worthy 
of  even  double  honor." 

The  sense  here  given  of  the  verb  translated  "  labor"  has 
been  already  noticed,  and  is  referred  to  in  a  passage  of  the  Apos- 
tolical Constitutions,^  where  it  is  taught  that  ''  to  presbyters 
also,  when  they  labor  assiduously  in  the  word  and  doctrines,  let 
a  double  portion  be  assigned."  It  is  here  unquestionably  made 
the  duty  of  all  the  presbyters  to  preach,  but  it  is  to  that  kind  of 
ministerial  effort  denominated  laboring,  that  double  honor  is 
to  be  given. ^  "  In  no  part,  whatever,  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment," says  Mosheim,*  "  is  the  verb  labor  made  use  of, 
either  absolutely  or  conjoined  with  the  words  iji  word  and  doc- 
trine, to  express  the  ordinary  labor  of  teaching,  and  instructing 
the  people.  But  I  observe  that  St.  Paul,  in  various  places,  ap- 
plies this  verb,  and  also  the  noun,  sometimes  separately,  and  at 
other  times  connected  with  certain  other  words,  in  an  especial 
sense,  to  that  kind   of  labor  which  he  and  other  holy  persons 

^  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  B.  T.  cli.  vi. 

2  Lib.  ii.  ch.  xxviii. 

3  There  are  various  allusions  in  this  very  section  to  the  fact  that  presbyters 
■^^ere  to  preach,  and  also  "  to  offer  the  eucharist." 

4  Commentary  on  the  Affairs  of  the  Christians,  &c.  vol.Ji.  pp.  216,  217.  See 
also  Goode's  Divine  Rule  of  Faith,  vol.  ii.  p.  62.  Riddle's  Christian  Antiqui- 
ties, B.  iii.  ch.  iv.  §  2,  pp.  231,  232,  233.  See  also  231.  Lightfoot's  Works, 
vol.  iii.  pp.  258,  259.  Voetius'  Politicse  Eccles.  torn.  iii.  p.  439,  &c.  Nean- 
der's  Hist,  of  the  Planting  of  Christianity,  vol.  i.  pp.  174,  178.  Also,  Hist,  of 
the  Chr.  Rel.  vol.  i.  pp.  189-191,  "  Presbyters  for  ruling  well,  are  worthy  of 
double  honor,  specially  for  laboring  in  the  word."  See  also  this  view  of  the 
passage  urged  at  length  by  Macknight,  Comm.  in  loco.  vol.  iii.  pp.  206,  207. 
See  also  Neander's  Hist,  of  the  First  Planting  of  Christianity,  vol.  i.  p.  177. 

4 


50  SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OP    THE 

encountered  in  propagating  the  light  of  the  gospel  and  bringing 
over  the  Jews  and  heathens  to  a  faiih  in  Christ.  In  Romans  16 : 
12,  (to  pass  over  what  is  said  in  ver.  6  of  one  Mary,)  the  apostle 
describes  Tryphaena  and  Tryphosa  as  laboring  in  the  Lord  ;  and 
Persis,  another  woman,  as  having  labored  much  in  the  Lord,  or 
which  is  the  same  thing,  for  the  sake  of,  or  in  the  cause  of  the 
Lord.  Now  what  interpretation  can  be  given  to  this,  unless  it 
be  that  these  women  had  assiduously  employed  themselves  in  add- 
ing to  the  Lord's  flock,  and  in  initiating  persons  of  their  own 
sex  in  the  principles  of  Christianity  ?  The  word  appears  to  me 
to  have  the  same  sense  in  1  Cor.  4  :  12,  where  St.  Paul  says  of 
himself,  "  And  we  labor,  working  with  our  own  hands."  By 
laborinor,  J  here  understand  him  to  have  meant  laborini;  in  the 
Lord  or  for  Christ ;  and  the  sense  of  the  passage  appears  to  me 
to  be,  "  Although  we  labor  for  Christ,  and  devote  our  life  to 
the  spreading  the  light  of  his  gospel  amongst  mankind,  we  yet 
derive  therefrom  no  worldly  gain,  but  procure  whatever  may  be 
necessary  to  our  existence  by  the  diligence  of  our  hands."  And 
when  in  the  same  epistle,  1  Cor.  15 :  10,  he  declares  himself  to 
have  "  labored  more  abundantly  than  all  the  rest  of  the  apos- 
tles," his  meaning  unquestionably  is  that  he  made  more  converts  to 
Christianity  than  they.  It  would  be  easy  to  adduce  other  pas- 
sages in  which  by  laboring,  whether  it  occur  absolutely  or  in 
connexion  with  some  explanatory  addition,  is  evidently  meant 
not  the  ordinary  instruction  of  the  Christians,  but  the  propagat- 
ing of  the  gospel  among  those  who  were  as  yet  ignorant  of  the 
true  religion  ;  but  I  conceive  that  the  citations  which  I  have  al- 
ready made  will  be  deemed  sufficient.  V/e  see,  therefore,  that  it 
might  not,  without  show  of  reason  and  authority,  be  contended 
that  by  *'  the  presbyters  who  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine," 
are  to  be  understood  such  of  the  presbyters  as  were  intent  on  en- 
larging the  church,  and  occupied  themselves  in  converting  the 
Jews  and  heathens  from  their  errors  and  bringing  them  into  the 
fold  of  their  Divine  Master — and  not  those  whose  exertions  were 
limited  to  the  instructing  and  admonishing  of  the  members  of 
the  church,  when  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  divine  worship. 
And  nothing  could  be  more  natural  than  for  such  to  be  pointed 
out  as  more  especially  deserving  of  a  liigher  reward,  and  worthy 
to  be  held  in  greater  esteem  than  the  rest. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  51 

The  practice  of  the  churches  in  subsequent  times  further 
expounds  this  text ;  for  having  few  learned  and  able  speakers,  he 
that  could  preach  best  preached  ordinarily,  and  was  made  chief, 
or  bishop,  or  president,  while  the  rest  assisted  him  in  govern- 
ment and  other  offices,  and  taught  the  people  more  privately,  being 
however  regarded  as  of  the  same  office  and  order  with  him,  and 
preaching  occasionally  as  necessity  or  usefulness  required.^  It  is 
true  that  when  the  prelates  came  to  engross  the  power  and 
authority  of  the  ministry,  they  claimed  the  exclusive  right  to 
preach,  while  presbyters  were  only  allowed  to  preach  hy  their 
permission;  and  Dr.  Miller  deduces  from  this  an  argument  in  favor 
of  the  application  of  the  term  presbyter  to  lay  or  ruling  elders ; 
but  that  this  was  a  tyrannical  assumption  of  unconstitutional 
power,  and  neither  the  general  rule  nor  the  general  custom,  can- 
not be  doubted.^  "  Unto  priests  as  well  as  unto  bishops  is  com- 
mitted the  dispensation  of  God's  mysteries,  for  they  are  set  over 
the  church  of  God,  and  are  partakers  with  bishops  in  the  teach- 
ing of  the  people  and  the  office  of  preaching,"'  says  one  ancient 
council.  *'  It  is  a  very  bad  custom,"  says  the  Council  of  Con- 
stantinople, "  in  certain  churches  for  priests  to  hold  their  peace 
in  the  presence  of  the  bishops,  as  though  they  did  either  envy  or 
scorn  to  hear  them  contrary  to  the  apostle,"  etc.  Gregory  thus 
speaks  in  his  pastorals :  **  Predications  officium  suscipit,  quis  ad  sa- 
cerdotium  accedit,"  whosoever  taketh  priesthood  upon  him,  taketh 
upon  him  also  the  office  of  preaching.  "  Seeing  to  you,"  says  Gre- 
gory of  Nyssa,  '*  and  to  such  as  you,  adorned  with  hoary  wisdom 
from  above,  and  who  are  presbyters  indeed,  and  justly  styled  the 
fathers  of  the  church,  the  word  of  God  conducts  us  to  learn  the 
doctrines  of  salvation,  saying,  ask  thy  father  and  he  will  show  thee  ; 
thy  presbyters,  and  they  will  tell  thee."  And  so  also,  the  first 
council  of  Aquisgranense,  A.  D.  816,  most  explicitly  attributes 
to  presbyters  the  function  of  preaching,  and  of  administering  the 
sacraments.  It  was  in  fact  the  general  doctrine  of  all  the  fathers, 
that  the  words  addressed  by  Christ  to  Peter,  "  feed  my  sheep," 

*  Baxter  on  Episcopacy,  Pt.  II.,  p.  122.  Apost.  Fathers,  ed,  Cotel.  Tom. 
i.  p.  624. 

2  Vitringa  shows  that  the  custom  of  the  African  Church  was  an  exception, 
p.  489.     De  Vet.  Synag. 


53  SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OF    THE 

were  addressed  to  all  the  ministers  of  Christ ;  and  thus  Suicer, 
in  entering  upon  his  illustration  of  the  term  presbyter  from  the 
Greek  fathers,  defines  presbyters  as  those  to  whom  is  committed 
the  word  of  God,  or  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.'  Such  is  the 
clear  determination  of  the  fathers  and  of  those  who  have  most 
thoroughly  studied  their  works.  *'  The  business  of  preaching," 
says  the  learned  Le  Moyne,  "  belonged  to  the  apostles,  bishops, 
and  the  early  presbyters" — and  this  he  confirms  by  a  long  series 
of  witnesses. '^  Vitringa  defends  the  same  opinion, ^  and  says, 
"  Surely  nothing  can  be  more  certain,  nothing  in  ancient  history 
more  plainly  brought  to  light,"  than  that  presbyters  were  capable 
of  all  the  offices  of  the  bishop  or  pastor,  of  which  he  makes  an 
enumeration.*  Yea,  verily,  even  as  late  as  the  time  of  Jerome, 
**  What  could  a  bishop  do  which  a  presbyter  could  not  do,  except 
in  the  matter  of  ordination?"^  in  which  custom  and  usurpation 
had  given  a  precedency  to  the  latter. 

We  have  now  then,  we  think,  made  it  evident  that  in  the 
primitive  church,  presbyters  were,  by  their  very  office,  preach- 
ers f  and  that  there  was  as  a  general  rule  a  plurality  of  them  in 
every  church,  just  as  was  the  case  in  the  apostolic  churches. 
The  presumption,  therefore,  arising  from  these  facts  in  favor  of 
the  interpretation  now  given  to  the  passage  in  1  Tim.  5:  17,  is 
exceedingly  strong,  and  this  presumption  will  be  greatly  in- 
creased by  the  additional  fact  that  in  the  fathers,  the  very  term 
TTQosarojteg,  here  translated  ruling,  and  now  imagined  to  refer  to 
our  ruling  elders,  or  lay  representatives  of  the  people,  is  em- 
ployed to  denote  (as  we  think  it  does  in  this  passage)  the  presi- 
dent, moderator,  or  superintendent  of  the  presbytery,  who  was 
preeminently  the  pastor  and  preacher  of  the  church.'''  In  proof 
of  this,  we  request  attention  to  the  following  examples  : 

Polycarp,  in  his  letter  to  Valens,  recognizes  the  authority  of 
the  presbyters  over  him,  their  co-presbyter,  and  represents   him 

'  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  126. 

2  Not.  ad  Polycarpi  Epist.  p.  35,  in  Vitringa,  p.  497. 

3  See  pp.  484,  485.  "  See  p.  48G,  and  especially  p.  489. 
^  Ep.  ad  Evagr.  '   c. 

^  See  further  proof  in  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  157,  &c.  and  164,  &lc. 
'  These  terms  are  all  synonymous  in  their  derivation. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER. 


53 


as  having  been  "  made  a  presbyter  among  them."^  Clemens 
speaks  of  "  the  presbyters  appointed  over  "  the  church  at  Corinth, 
as  having  the  gifts,  sTTiay.omjg,  or  the  episcopacy.^ 

Thus  Justin  Martyr  mentions  the  n^oEajaig  rcov  adeXcfcxw,  who 
was  a  presbyter,  who  presided,  and  offered  up  the  eucharistic 
prayers.  He  calls  him  *'  that  one  of  the  brethren  who  presides."^ 
Irenaeus,  in  describing  the  succession  of  bishops,  calls  them 
"  presbyters,  presiding  among  their  brethren."  Such  were  Soter, 
Victor,  and  others,  who  are  now  glorified  into  popes,  but  who, 
in  the  days  of  Irenaeus,  were  only  ngeaiSvisgoi  ol  ngoiaxavTeg^  pre- 
siding or  ruling  presbyters.*  Clement  of  Alexandria,  places  the 
honor  of  bishops  in  their  having  the  ^7'st  seat  in  the  presbytery, 
that  is,  among  the  other  presbyters,  ngwToy.u&edQia.^  Tertuliian 
also  represents  the  government  of  the  church  as  resident  in  the 
council  of  presbyters,  ecclesiastlci  ordinis  consessus,  of  which 
the  bishop  was  the  antistes,  prcBsiclens,  or  summus  saccrdos. 
"  The  presidents  that  bear  rule,  are,"  says  he,  *'  certain  approved 
presbyters."^  Even  Ignatius  describes  the  bishop  as  the  officer 
of  an  individual  church,  and  as  occupying  the  first  seat,  uqo- 
}ca^7]fj.svov.  The  apostolical  tradition  ascribed  to  Hippolytus, 
represents  the  bishop  or  moderator  asking  the  presbytery  of  the 
church  over  which  a  pastor  was  to  be  set  apart,  "  whom  they  de- 
sire for  a  president?"  op  anowTat  eig  aQ/ovra.  The  setting  apart 
of  the  presiding  bishop,  or  presbyter,  was,  by  '*  the  deacons  hold- 
ing the  divine  gospels  over  his  head,"  while  presbyters  were 
ordained  by  imposition  of  hands;  nor  is  there  any  proof  that  the 
prelates,  or  presiding  bishops,  were  separately  ordained  by  im- 
position of  hands,  before  the  third  century.'^ 

Basil  speaks  of  the  ngosaccoTsg  or  rulers  of  Christ's  flock. ^ 
Gregory,  of  Nyssa,  calls  bishops  the  spiritual  nQoeajojTeg  or  rul- 
ers.^ Both  Theodoret  and  Theophylact  explain  the  term  as  re- 
ferring to  those  who  preach,  and  administer  the  sacraments,  and 


^  Dr.  Wilson's  Prim.  Gov't,  p.  227.  «  j^id. 

3  Apol.  ad  Anton.  Sect.  I.  c.  67.         -*  Dr.  Wilson's  Piim.  Gov't,  p.  227. 

5  Ibid.  p.  228.  «  See  in  Archb.  Usher's  Reduction  of  Episc. 

7  Dr.  Wilson's  Prim.  Gov't,  p.  229. 

«  InPs.  28.    In  Suiceri  Thes.  in  voce.  »  In  Ibid. 


64 


SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OF    THE 


preside  over  spiritual  aftairs.^  Chrysostom  is  of  the  same 
opinion. 2  Isidore,  of  Pelusium,  in  the  fifth  century,  uses  the 
words  TT^uEtTTcog,  sTticDiOTioQ,  leQsvg,  promiscuously,  for  the  same 
office. 3  Augustine  testifies  to  the  same  thing ;  **  for  what  is  a 
bishop,"  says  he,  "  but  a  primus  presbyter,  that  is,  a  high  priest, 
(who  was  in  order  only  a  priest,)  and  he  (that  is,  the  apostle) 
calls  them  no  otherwise  than  his  co-presbyters  and  co-priests."* 
In  like  manner  does  he  employ  the  term  sacerdos,  priest,  as 
synonymous  with  episcopus^  bishop,  occasionally  prefixing  the 
epithet  summus,  or  chief,  and  thus  regarding  the  bishop  as  no 
more  than  the  primus,  presiding  or  ruling  presbyter. ^  Cyprian 
is  strong  in  confirmation  of  the  same  position.  While  he  em- 
ploys "  the  office  of  a  priesthood,"  and  "  the  degree  of  a  bishop," 
as  synonymous,^  his  great  argument,  upon  which  he  frequently 
dwells  for  the  superior  honor  of  bishops,  is  founded  upon  the 
preeminence  of  Peter  over  the  other  apostles.  But  he  himself 
teaches,  and  the  fathers  generally  taught,  that  Peter  was  only 
priynus  inter  pares,  and  that  all  the  apostles  were  one  in  order, 
and  equal  in  power.  And,  therefore,  he  must  have  believed  that 
bishops  were  greater  in  honor  than  other  presbyters,  only  be- 
cause elevated  to  the  situation  of  presidency.'^  He  thought 
Peter  was  ordinarily  praeses,  or  moderator,  in  the  apostolic  pres- 
bytery, and  that  bishops  stood  in  the  same  relation  to  their  pres- 
byters. Cyprian,  in  fact,  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
moderator  of  his  eight  presbyters,  without  whom  he  could  do  no- 
thing.^ Such  was  also  the  case  with  Cornelius  bishop  of  Rome. ^ 
Sozomen,  the  ecclesiastical  historian,  is  also  found  using  the 
terms  sjiiaiconog,  nQOsaxcog,  riyov}xn>og,  and  nQocyjuTr^g,  as  convertible 

^  In  Ps.  28.     In  Suiceri  Thes.  in  voce,  and  p.  194. 

2  On  1  Tim.  5  :  17,  and  Dr.  Wilson's  Prim.  Gov't,  p.  158. 

3  See  Dr.  Wilson's  Prim.  Ch.  p.  160. 

4  Tom.  iv.  780,  in  Dr.  Wilson,  p.  182. 

5  Ibid.  6  Jameson's  Cyp.  Isot.  pp.  395,  362,  and  c.  393. 

■''  See  this  position  abundantly  proved  by  Prof.  Jameson,  in  his  Cyprianus 
Isotimus,  pp.  374,  375,  377,  380,  390,  391 . 

8  See  Epistles,  8,  9,  20,  30,  35,  36,  48,  59,  and  Jameson,  p.  448. 

^  In  Epistle  49,  ibid.  To  this  agrees  the  testimony  of  Usher,  in  his  Reduc- 
tion of  Episc,  who  thus  interpreted  them.  That  there  were  many  ofHcers  in 
the  same  church,  see  Jameson,  pp,  462-464. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  55» 

terms,  and  thus  preserving  the  original  idea  of  the  bishop,  as  the 
presiding  presbyter.'  Hilary,  under  the  names  of  Ambrose 
and  others,  calls  the  bishop  primus  presbi/ter.^  Optatus  calls 
him  primicerius,  which,  as  a  learned  civilian  defines  it,  means 
TXQOJTov  TT]g  ra^iOi)g,  the  first  of  his  order, ^  and  consequently,  still  a 
presbyter.  The  presbyter  is  thus  described  by  Gregory 
Nazianzen,  as  the  second  bishop,  ev  devTtgoig  Sgovoig.  Just  as 
the  praetor  Urbanus  was  called  maximus,  while  yet  he  had  no 
more  power  than  the  others,  but  only  a  greater  dignity ;  and  as 
the  chief  archon  at  Athens  was  only  one  among  many,  pares 
potestate,  so  presbyters  and  bishops  had  idem  ministerium,  as 
Jerome  attests,  and  eadem  ordinatio,  as  Hilary  declares ;  that  is, 
the  same  ministry,  orders,  ordination,  and  power,  although  the 
bishop  had  the  first  place  in  official  dignity. 

To  these  testimonies  may  be  added  that  of  the  fourth  coun- 
cil of  Carthage.  '*  Let  the  bishop,  when  he  is  in  the  church, 
and  sitting  in  the  presbytery,  be  placed  in  a  higher  seat;  but 
when  he  is  in  the  manse,  or  house,  let  him  acknowledge  that  he 
is  but  their  colleague;"^  that  is,  says  Chamier,  "in  the  same 
charge  and  office."^  , 

It  was  doubtless  in  reference  to  this  primitive  custom  of  pre- 
sidency, that  the  ancients  speak  of  Peter  as  bishop  of  Antioch 
and  Rome;  James,  of  Jerusalem  ;  Timothy,  of  Ephesus  ;  Titus, 
of  Crete  ;  and  Mark,  of  Alexandria  ;  because  they  were  much  at 
those  places,  and  frequently  presided  in  the  churches  there. 
And  hence,  too,  the  doctrine  of  apostolical  succession,  which 
was  nothing  more  than  a  list  of  those  who  presided  over  differ- 
ent churches.^ 

Prelates  were  originally  nothing  more  than  the  presiding 
presbyters  of  the  churches.  Hence,  we  have  found  among  the 
ancients  generally,  that  while  in  Greek  they  were  denominated 

^  See  quoted  in  torn.  iv.  in  Dr.  Wilson,  p.  191. 

2  In  1  Tim.  Autor.  Quest,  in  V.  et  N.  T.  in  Baxter's  Diocesan  Ch.  p.  112. 

3  Gothofrid  in  Code,  in  ibid. 

*  Caranz.  Summ.  Concil.  Can.  §5.     In  Jameson's  Cyp.  p.  441. 

5  Tom.  ii.  lib.  xiv.  c.  14,  N.  12,  in  ibid.  p.  442. 

®  Benson's  Essay  on  the  Relig.  Worship  of  the  Christians,  ch.  vii.  §  6. 


56  SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OF    THE 

TiQOKTTafxsi'oi,  111  Latin  they  were  caWed p7'a)^ositi  (hence  provost)  ;^ 
and  while  in  Greek  they  were  called  ngoedgoi,  that  is,  entitled 
to  the  first  seat,  in  Latin  they  were  called  prccsides  and  prce- 
sidentcs,  presidents ;-  and  hence,  too,  in  order  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  other  presbyters,  who  were  still  called  bishops, 
they  were,  as  Theodoret  says,  denominated  apostles.^  The 
original  parity  of  the  ministry,  the.  identity  of  presbyters  and 
bishops,  and  the  derivation  of  prelates  from  this  original  order 
of  presiding  presbyters,  or  moderators,  are  thus  found  to  be 
deeply  imbedded  in  the  whole  nomenclature  of  the  prelacy  itself, 
in  every  age  of  the  church. 

From  what  has  been  said,  therefore,  we  conclude  that  the 
passage  in  1  Tim.  5  :  17,  does  not  refer  to  a  double  order  of 
elders,  but  to  the  peculiar  duties  to  which  in  the  apostolic  and 
primitive  churches,  presbyters,  the  same  order,  were  assigned — 
the  term  riding  referring  to  the  duty  assigned  to  those  who  were 
set  over  the  local  church,  and  who  presided  over  the  meetings 
of  the  presbytery  ;  and  the  word  especially  referring  to  the 
peculiarly  self-denying  and  laborious  duties  to  which  they 
were  called  who  performed  the  work  of  evangelists  in  the  sur- 
rounding country.  Or,  if  this  interpretation  seems  too  con- 
jectural, there  is  still  another  which  is  easy  and  natural,  and  ac- 
cordant to  the  facts  in  the  case.  It  will  be  shown  from  Cyprian 
that  the  distinction  so  generally  recognized  by  the  reformers 
and  in  our  own  mother  church,  between  pastors  and  doctors, 
was  acted  upon  in  the  primitive  church.  Both  were  presbyters, 
but  while  the  one  discharged  fully  all  the  functions  of  the  pastor, 
the  other  labored  in  preparing  the  catechumens  for  admission  into 
the  church,  in  giving  instruction  also  to  candidates  for  the  minis- 
try, and  to  all  others  also  when  schools  were  established  by  the 
apostles,  as  is  asserted,  and  by  the  earliest  Christians,  as  is 
undoubted.  And  of  this  distinction  there  are  clear  proofs  remain- 
ing. The  double  reference,  therefore,  in  this  passage,  may  be  to 
this  double  class  of  duties,  the  presidency  of  a    congregation 

^  See  authorities  in  Riddle's  Ch.  Antiq.  p.    161.     Coleman's  ibid.  p.  98. 
Bingham,  vol.  i.  p.  53,  &c. 

«  Riddle's  Ant.  p.  162.     Bingham,  «fcc. 
Riddle,  ibid.  p.  162. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  \  57 

where  Other  ministers  were  associated,. being  an  office  more  of 
honor  than  of  toilsome  labor,  and  for  which  a  man  of  advanced 
years,  who  was  not  adapted  to  the  active  duties  of  the  latter 
sphere,  might  be  competent. 

Either  interpretation  will  meet  the  difficulties  of  the  case  ; 
and  if  the  word  rendered  "honor"  mean,  as  is  supposed,  com- 
pensation^ it  will  still  more  effectually  exclude  the  ruling  elder, 
whose  office  has  never  been  salaried.' 

There  is,  then,  no  warrant  in  Scripture,  or  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  apostolic  or  of  the  early  churches,  for  interpreting  the 
term  presbyter  in  the  New  Testament  as  having  reference  to  the 
representatives  of  the  people,  that  is,  to  our  present  ruling  elders. 
It  must,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  appropriated  to  the  bishops  or 
teachers  of  the  churches.  And  just  as  we  have  now  presidents 
or  moderators  of  our  presbyteries,  chosen  from  among  the  pres- 
byters, so  were  there  in  the  apostolic  churches  presidents,  who 
were  distinguished  from  the  others  by  being  called  "  presiding 
presbyters."  And  as  these  were  originally  chosen  for  life,  they 
gradually  came,  by  way  of  abbreviation,  to  be  called  "the  bish- 
ops," to  distinguish  them,  until,  in  process  of  time,  this  title  was 
appropriated  exclusively  to  them,  while  that  of  presbyters  alone 
was  given  to  the  others.^  This  text,  then,  and  it  is  the  only 
one  which   gives  any  ground  for  two  kinds  of  presbyters,^    can- 


^  See  this  view  ably  sustained  by  Vitringa,  p.  490,  &:.c. 

^  On  the  importance  of  this  view  in  explaining  the  origin  of  Prelacy,  and 
other  difficulties,  see  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  162,  &c.,  and  p.  295,  &c. 

^  Should  any  allege  in  proof  of  the  passage  in  1  Tim.  4  :  14,  we  would  re- 
ply in  the  words  of  Mr.  Lazarus  Seaman,  in  his  Vindication  of  the  Ordination 
of  the  Reformers,  p.  92,  "  Though  the  power  of  ordaining  or  confirming  pastors 
(say  they)  belong  to  the  whole  presbytery,  yet  of  old  the  presbytery  did  execute 
that  in  the  rite  of  laying  on  of  hands,  not  so  much  by  ruling  elders  as  by  pas- 
tors, who  did  especially  attend  on  prophecy  or  explication  of  the  scripture,  and 
application  of  it  to  the  use  of  the  faithful.  Unde  Prophetia  cum  Manuum  im- 
positione  per  quam  olim  fiebat  Ordinatio  Pastorum  ab  Apostolo  conjunctur.  1 
Tim.  4  :  14.  By  this  it  appears  they  have  a  singular  opinion  of  the  word  pro- 
phecy, not  of  the  word  presbytery  ;  for  they  plainly  supposed  the  presbytery 
consisted  of  two  sorts  of  elders,  and  yet  that  preaching  elders  only  laid  on 
hands.     And  well  they  might  suppose  that,  (as  doth  your  author  so  often  cited, 

4* 


^ 


SCRIPTURAL    VIEW    OF    THE 


not,  to  use  the  words  of  Dr.  Wilson,'  establish  such  distinc- 
tion, because  it  can  be  literally  understood  of  the  various  duties 
of  the  same  order.  Presbyters  advanced  in  life,  grave  in  deport- 
ment, and  of  distinguished  prudence,  were  fitted  to  preside; 
others,  if  of  more  ready  utterance,  and  of  competent  knowledge, 
were  best  qualified  to  teach.  The  passage  shows  that  some  pre- 
sided, that  others  labored  in  word,  and  that  the  honor,  or  rather 
reward  was  to  be  proportioned  to  their  efforts,  and  not  according 
to  grades  and  orders  never  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures.  Pres- 
byter, as  an  ofl^cer  of  a  church,  means,  in  every  other  passage  in 
the  New  Testament,  a  bishop,  in  the  ancient  sense  of  the  term  ; 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  infer  from  this  text,  a  new  sort,  never 
heard  of  till  the  Reformation.  If  there  is  any  priority,  it  is  a 
precedence  over  the  presbyters  themselves ;  for  the  ngozuxag  was 
he  who  presided  amongst  the  Ephori,  among  whom  was  parity; 
or  who  governed  a  kingdom,  and,  accordingly,  Chrysostom 
thought  him  both  noi^u^v  and  diduaxcdo^,  a  pastor  and  teacher. 
So  far  is  the  word  ruling  (n^oeaTOJisg)  from  signifying  a  subor- 
dinate class  of  presbyters,  that  Justin  Martyr,  within  half  a  cen- 
tury of  John,  makes  use  of  that  identical  word  repeatedly,  to 
mark  out  that  presbyter,  who  gave  thanks  and  dispensed  the  ele- 
ments at  the  sacramental  supper  to  the  deacons,  to  be  carried  to 
the  communicants.  The  presbyters,  who  presided  {ngosaTfoTsg) 
on  the  most  solemn  occasions,  blessing  the  elements,  deserved 
double  reward;  but  especially  those  (/.lahaTu  oi)  who  performed 
the  chief  labor  in  preaching.  **  Ail  the  saints  salute  you,  {^aharrx 
8s  01,)  but  chiefly  they  that  are  of  Caesar's  household."  (Phil. 
4.  22.)     Who  would  imagine  that  the  saints  of  Caesar's  house- 


p.  171,)  because  much  of  prayer  and  teaching  is  to  accompany  the  act  of  impo- 
sition, before  and  after.  None  affirm  that  the  word  presbytery,  as  it  is  used  in 
1  Tim.  4  :  14,  does  necessarily  imply  a  company  of  ruling  elders,  as  well  as 
others.  But  upon  the  supposition  that  there  are  two  sorts  of  elders,  proved  by 
other  places,  they  may  be  included  under  that  one  word,  because  it  is  compre- 
hensive of  them  both." 

^  On  the  Government  of  the  Churches,  pp.  283,  284.  We  might  quote  at 
great  length  in  further  confirmation,  Vitringa  de  Syn.  Vet.  See  pp.  479-484, 
490,  879,  883. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  59 

hold  were  of  a  dilTereiit  kind  frcn  others?  Their  labors  might 
be  different,  but  they  were  equ  illy  saints ;  the  word  especially 
only  expresses  that  their  salutations  were  either  7«orc  earnest,  or 
presented  to  peculiar  notice.' 

*  See  also  Coleman's  Primitive  Church,  p.  127. 


CHAPTER    III. 

The  term  Presbyter  was  applied  by  the  Fathers  only  to  Ministers  who  preached 
and  ordained,  and  not  to  Ruling  Elders. 

We  now  come  to  the  Fathers,  and  inquire  whether  among 
them  the  office  of  ruling  elders  existed,  and  if  so  whether  they 
denominated  such  officers  by  the  term  presbyters  1  On  the  first 
inquiry  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  dwell,  as  it  has  been  already  suf- 
ficiently established  by  many  writers,  and  is  clearly  implied  in  all 
the  proofs  by  which  the  participation  of  the  laity  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  church  is  so  undeniably  proved.^  The  only  ques- 
tion, therefore,  to  which  we  advert,  is,  in  what  way  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  laity  who  sat  in  all  the  early  councils,  and  took 
part  in  all  the  concerns  of  the  church,  were  described,  and  whe- 
ther they  are  ever  to  be  understood  by  the  iQnn  presbyter. 

In  the  writings  of  the  apostolic  fathers  we  seem  to 
have  the  simple  delineations  of  church  polity  which  are  given  in 
the  New  Testament,  except  in  the  epistles  of  Ignatius,  which  there 
is  very  little  reason  to  doubt,  have  been  made  to  assume  the  col- 
oring of  a  subsequent  age.^  We  read  in  Clemens  Romanus  of 
no  other  officers  in  the  church  than  "  bishops  and  deacons,"  for 
while  he  does  employ  the  term  presbyters,  he  identifies  the  per- 
sons so  named  with  those  whom  he  calls  bishops,  since  he  sup- 
poses the  presbyters  to  have  been  invested  with  the  episcopal  of- 
fice, and  blames  the  church  of  Corinth  for  having  cast  them  out 
of  their  bishoprics,  that  is,  out  of  their  episcopal  office.^  Either, 
therefore,  there  were  no  officers  corresponding  to  ruling  elders 

*  See  note  B.  ^  See  this  proved  in  Presbytery  and  Prelacy. 

3  See  Ep.  §44,  47,  and  57.  See  the  author's  work  on  Presbytery  and  Pre- 
lacy, p.  340,  &,c. 


PATRISTICAL    VIEW    OF    THE    OFFICE,    ETC.  61 

in  the  church  at  Corinth  in  the  time  of  Clemens,  the  people  con- 
ducting their  affairs  as  a  body,  or  otherwise  the  bishops  and 
other  presbyters,  together  with  the  deacons,  were  intrusted  with 
the  oversight  of  the  congregation.  Clemens,  it  is  true,  speaks 
of  a  plurality  of  these  presbyter-bishops  in  the  Corinthian  church, 
but  this,  we  have  seen,  is  in  exact  accordance  with  apostolic 
usage. 

Very  similar  is  the  letter  of  Polycarp,  who  was  probably  the 
ngosarag,  or  presiding  presbyter  "  in  the  church  at  Smyrna,"  for 
IrenaBUs  calls  him  "  the  apostolic  presbyter,"  and  also  **  bishop." 
This  epistle  begins  very  similarly  to  the  epistle  to  the  Philip- 
pians,  (ch.  1 :  l,).or  to  the  address  of  the  apostle  Peter  to  his  fel- 
low presbyters,  (]  Peter  5:  I,  &c.)  "  Polycarp  and  his  fellow- 
presbyters,"  or  "  the  presbyters  united  with  him,"  and  living 
with  him  at  Smyrna,  "to  the  church  of  God  at  Philippi."  Now 
that  by  presbyters  he  meant  ministers,  is  plain  from  its  applica- 
tion to  Valens  their  former  minister  and  bishop,  who  was,  he 
says,  *'  made  a  presbyter  ;"  and  from  the  fact  that  as  the  apostle 
spoke  only  of  bishops  and  deacons  in  their  church,  (Phil,  1  :  1,) 
so  Polycarp  alludes  only  to  presbyters  and  deacons.  He  must, 
therefore,  mean  by  presbyters  the  bishops  of  the  apostle.  And 
he  does,  as  we  have  seen,  actually  employ  these  terms  as  inter- 
changeable and  synonymous. '- 

It  will  appear  from  a  comparison  of  the  passages  in  the  writ- 
ings of  Hernias,  which  bear  on  this  subject,  that  he  considered 
bishops  and  elders  as  different  titles  for  the  same  office.  He 
speaks  o^  elders  as  presiding  over  the  church  of  Rome  ;  he  repre- 
sents a  plurality  of  elders  as  having  this  presidenci/  at  the  same 
time;  having  used  the  word  bishops,  he  explains  it  as  meaning 
those  zcho  presided  over  the  churches  ;  and  immediately  after 
bishops,  (without  mentioning  presbyters,)  he  proceeds  to  speak 
of  deacons,  that  is,  those  who  are  intrusted  with  the  protection  of 
the  poor  and  of  the  widoios. 

As  to  one  other  passage,  in  which  he  uses  four  terms  in  de- 
scribing the  officers  of  the  church,  it  must  either  be  interpreted 
in  accordance  with  the  preceding  one,  the  terms  bishop,  doctor, 

•  Sec  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  347. 


62 


PATRISTICAL    VIEW    OF    THE 


and  minister,  as  in  Scripture,  being  applicable  to  the  one  crer.ernl 
order  of  Christian  ministers,  whom  Herinas  had  denominated 
presbyters,  and  who  are  here  made  to  succeed  the  apostles  ;  or, 
if  it  must  be  taken  literally,  then  it  recommends  four  orders  of 
the  ministry,  and  not  three,  and  these,  too,  such  as  no  man  on 
earth  can  find  or  distinguish.  It  is  apparent,  that  to  all  these 
officers,  Hernias  attributes  the  management  of  the  episcopal  of- 
fice, and  the  power  of  the  keys,  and  therefore  they  must  all  pos- 
sess the  same  powers  and  functions.  He  makes  no  distinction 
whatever  between  the  rulers  and  the  teachers,  but  identifies 
their  office.  And  hence  vve  must  conclude,  that  in  the  time  of 
Hermas,  presbyters  were  equally  called  apos'Jes,  that  is,  their 
successors  in  the  ordinary  ministry  of  the  word,  bishops,  doctors, 
and  ministers,  and  that  no  other  officers  were  known  to  the 
churches,  except  deacons,  who  attended  to  the  wants  of  the 
poor.  These  presbyters,  or  bishops,  it  is  further  evident,  consti- 
tuted a  college  who  governed  in  common  the  church  of  some 
single  city  or  parish, — "  the  presbyters  in  this  city  who  govern 
the  church."^ 

In  Ignatius  we  have  a  very  frequent  reference  to  the  bishops, 
presbyters,  and  deacons,  but  there  is  nothing  whatever  to  mili- 
tate against  the  view  of  these  terms  already  given.  We  must, 
therefore,  conclude,  that  he  uses  these  words  in  their  scriptural 
sense,  and  as  they  were  employed  by  Clemens,  Polycarp,  and 
Hermas;  and  that  he  meant  therefore  by  bishop,  the  president, 
or  7igo£(TTO)g,  of  which  bishop  is  a  literal  rendering,  and  fully  ex- 
presses its  meaning.  To  give  to  the  term  bishop  any  other 
meaning,  as  prelatists  do,  is  most  intolerable  presumption,  and  a 
plain  contradiction  to  the  inspired  testimony.  That  the  presby- 
ters of  Ignatius  were  preachers,  and  not  merely  rulers  or  repre- 
sentatives, is,  we  think,  evident  from  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  spoken  of.  He  calls  on  the  people  to  submit  "  to  the  pres- 
bytery as  to  the  law  of  Christ,"  and  **  to  the  presbyters  as  pre- 
siding in  the  place  of  the  apostolical  senate."  He  calls  them 
"  those  who  preside  among  you  as  the  type  or  example,  and  the 
source  of  instruction  in  incorruptible  truth. "^     "  Be  subject  to 

^  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  346.  2  Epjgj^  ^^  Magncs,  §  6. 

*Z 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  63 

the  presbyters  as  to  the  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ  our  hope."^  In 
the  epistle  to  Hiero,  ascribed  to  Ignatius,  he  says  of  presbyters, 
*'  they  baptize,  they  celebrate  the  eucharist,  they  impose  hands 
in  penance,  they  ordain. "^ 

Of  THE  PRIMITIVE  FATHERS,  the  first  of  vvhom  we  have  any 
record  is  Papias,  bishop  of  Hierapolis,  in  Asia,  A.  D.  116.  Of 
his  exposition  of  the  oracles  of  God  only  a  few  fragments  remain. 
And  of  these  the  only  passage  bearing  on  the  question  before 
us,  is  perhaps  the  one  preserved  by  Eusebius,  which  is  as  fol- 
lows :  *'  I  shall  not  think  it  grievous  to  set  down  in  writing, 
with  my  interpretations,  the  things  which  I  have  learned  of  the 
presbyters,  and  remember  as  yet  very  well,  being  fully  certified 
of  their  truth.  If  I  met  any  where  with  one  who  had  conversed 
with  the  presbyters,  I  inquired  after  the  sayings  of  the  presby- 
ters;  what  Andrew,  what  Peter,  what  Philip,  what  Thomas 
or  James  had  said;  what  John,  or  Matthew,  or  any  other  disci- 
ples of  the  Lord  were  wont  to  say;  and  what  Ariston,  or  John 
the  presbyter  said  :  for  I  am  of  the  mind  that  I  could  not  profit 
so  much  by  reading  books,  as  by  attending  to  those  who  spake 
with  the  living  voice."  It  is  very  evident  from  this  extract, 
that,  in  the  estimation  of  this  primitive  father,  the  presbyterate 
was  the  highest  order  in  the  ministry,  and  the  true  succession  of 
the  apostles,  in  their  ordinary  ministry,  since  he  speaks  only  of 
presbyters,  and  expressly  calls  the  apostles  themselves  pres- 
byters.^ 

Justin  Martyr  denominates  the  pastor  or  officiating  minister 
of  the  Christian  church,  the  ngoEaroyg^  president  or  moderator. 
This  word  he  uses,  instead  of  minister  or  bishop,  six  times,  and 
these  other  terms  not  at  all. 

According  to  Justin  Martyr,  therefore,  the  bishop,  who  was 
the  pastor  of  a  single  congregation,  and  therefore,  by  no  possi- 
bility a  prelate,  was  also  a  presbyter.  As  such  he  offered  up 
prayers,   and   gave   thanks,  in    the    church;    administered   the 

*  Ep.  ad  Fall.  §2,  and  §3,  and  Ep.  ad  Smyrn.  §8.     See  his  testimony 
fully  considered  in  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  349,  &c. 
2  Cap.  iii.  ed.  Cotel  Thorndike,  pp.  163,  164. 
2  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  366,  &.c. 


64  PATRISTICAL    VIEW    OF    THE 

Lord's  Supper  ;  delivered  discourses;  and  generally  conducted 
the  worship  of  the  congregation,  in  all  which  duties  we  have  de- 
scribed to  us  the  office  of  a  pastor,  but  not  that  of  a  prelate,  or  of 
a  ruling  elder.  Justin  employs  the  very  term,  so  commonly  appli- 
ed to  presbyters  throughout  the  New  Testament,  calling  his 
bishop  the  nQosatojg^  the  presbyter  who  presided,  the  moderator, 
or  prhiius  inter  pares .^ 

About  this  very  period,  Philo,  in  describing  the  order  of  the 
synagogue,  says:  "They  brought  him  (i.  e.  the  accused)  before 
the  president,  with  whom  the  priests  sat  in  council  j"^  and  this 
term,  president,  is,  says  Vitringa,  commonly  appropriated  by 
the  Rabbis  to  the  bishop  or  preacher  of  the  congregation.' 

That  Irenseus  also  employs  the  term  presbyter,  as  the  title  of 
those  who  preached  and  administered  sacraments,  is  plain.  In 
the  letter  addressed  by  the  martyrs  to  Eleutherius,  they  com- 
mend to  him  Irenaeus,  "  as  a  presbyter  of  the  church,  which  de- 
gree he  had  obtained." 

"  We  ought, "^  says  Irenaeus  himself,  '*  to  obey  those  presby- 
ters who  are  in  the  church ;  those,  I  mean,  who  have  succession 
from  the  apostles,  as  we  have  shown,  who  with  the  succession  of 
THE  EPISCOPATE,  havc  received,  according  to  the  good  pleasure 
of  the  Father,  the  sure  gift  of  truth.  But  they  who  are  looked 
upon  by  many  as  presbyters,  but  serve  their  own  pleasures, 
.  .  .  .  and  are  elated  with  pride,  at  their  exaltation  to  the 
chief  seat,  .  .  .  shall  be  reproved  by  the  Word.  .  .  . 
From  all  such  it  behoves  us  to  stand  aloof,  and  to  cleave  to 
those  who,  as  I  have  said  before,  both  retain  the  doctrine  of  the 
apostles,  and,  with  the  order  of  their  presbytership,  (or  .as 
Fevardentius  reads,  of  a  presbyter,)  exhibit  soundness  in  word, 
and  a  blameless  conversation."  Having  described  wicked  pres- 
byters, he  adds,5  "  from  such  we  ought  to  depart,  but  to  adhere 
to  those  who  keep  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles ;  and  with  the 
order  of  presbytery,  maintain  sound  doctrine,  and  a  blameless 


*  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  367. 

=  See  Life  of  Moses,  lib.  lii.  p.  528,  in  Vitringa. 

3  See  Vitringa,  lib.  i.  ch.  vi.  and  Bernard,  pp.  55,56. 

*  Adv.  Haeres,  1.  iv.  c.  43.  ^  Ibid.  1.  iv.  c.  44. 


OFFlC£    OF    RULING    ELDER.  65 

conversation,  &:-c.  Such  presbyters  the  church  does  not  nourish, 
concerning  whom  the  prophet  also  saith,  I  will  give  thee  princes 
in  peace,  and  bishops  in  righteousness.  Of  whom  our  Lord 
also  said,  Who,  therefore,  is  that  faithful,  and  good,  and  wise 
servant,  whom  his  master  may  set  over  his  house,  to  give  them 
their  food  in  due  season?''  Again,  "  He,  that  is,  the  apostle,  at- 
tributes to  all  teachers,  that  succession  of  the  church  that  is 
from  the  apostles ;  and  then  relates  what  doctrine  he  had  re- 
ceived from  a  certain  presbyter,  that  had  received  it  from  such 
as  saw  and  conversed  with  the  apostles."  Writing  to  Florinus, 
he  says,  "  These  opinions,  O  Florinus,  the  presbyters  before  our 
times,  the  disciples  (or  first  successors)  of  the  apostles,  did  by 
no  means  deliver  to  thee."^  After  alluding  to  Polycarp,  and  to 
his  instructions  and  discourses,  he  adds,  "lean  testify  before 
God,  that  if  that  holy  and  apostolic  presbyter  (Polycarp)  had 
heard  only  such  a  thing,  he  would  instantly  have  reclaimed  and 
stopt  his  ears."  Writing  to  Victor,  then  bishop  of  Rome,  on 
the  subject  of  the  Easter  controversy,  he  reminds  him,  that  '*  he 
ought  to  follow  the  ancient  custom  of  the  presbyters,  whom  he 
had  succeeded,"  alluding  to  Anicetus,  Pius,  Hyginus,  Teles- 
phorus,  and  Xystus,  whom  he  had  just  named,  and  whom  he 
calls  presbyters. 2 

Victor,  bishop  of  Rome,  A.  D.  192,  thus  writes  :  "  As  thy 
holy  fraternity  were  taught  by  those  presbyters,  who  had  seen 
the  apostles  in  the  flesh,  and  governed  the  church,  until  thy  time, 
(we  find)  the  catholic  church  celebrate  pasch,  not  on  the  four- 
teenth of  the  month,  with  the  Jews,  but  from  the  fifteenth  day 
to  the  twenty-first.  Therefore  let  thy  fraternity  write  to  the 
presbyters  of  Gaul,  that  they  observe  pasch,  not  as  the  Jews, 
who  deny  Christ,  but  with  the  followers  of  the  apostles,  and 
preachers  of  the  truth.  The  college  of  the  brethren  salute  thee  : 
salute  the  brethren  who  are  with  thee  in  the  Lord.  Eubulus,  one 
of  our  college,  who  carries  this  epistle  to  Vienna,  is  ready  to  live 
and  die  with  thee."  This  epistle  was  sent  by  Victor  and  his  col- 
leagues, to  Dionysius,  bishop  of  Vienna ;  and  from  this  passage, 

^  Euseb.  Eccl.  Hist.  1.  v.  c.  39. 

*  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  370,  &c. 


66  PATRISTICAL    VIEW    OF    THE 

it  is  evident  to  a  demonstration  that  presbyters  were  the  suc- 
cessors of  the  apostles,  and  that  by  the  term  presbyter,  there- 
fore, only  the  ministers  or  teachers  of  the  church  were  under- 
stood.^ 

Clement  Alexandrinus  confirms  this  conclusion.  That  he 
identifies  bishops  and  presbyters,  as  the  same  general  ministerial 
order,  would  appear  to  be  incontrovertible.  In  the  very  paragraph 
in  which  he  makes  an  enumeration  of  officers,  and  in  allusion  to 
the  heavenly  progression,  he  ranks  them  under  the  two  denomi- 
nations of  presbyters  and  deacons,^  while  in  another  passage,  he 
places  presbyters  first,  and  bishops  second,  and  widows  fourth, 
Though  only  a  presbyter,  he  yet  styles  himself  a  governor  of  the 
church.  He  ranks  himself  among  the  shepherds  or  pastors.  He 
speaks  of  presbyters  imposing  hands,  and  giving  their  blessing. 
Presbyters,  according  to  Clement,  were  intrusted  with  a  dignified 
ministry.  He  expressly  identifies  bishop  and  presbyter,  by  using 
the  one  term  for  the  other,  in  the  passage  in  I  Tim.  5  :  14. 
Presbyters,  according  to  him,  occupy  the  chief  seat  on  earth, 
and  shall  sit  down  among  the  four  and  twenty  thrones  in  heaven. 
He  repeatedly  enumerates  only  presbyters  and  deacons,  as  the 
ministering  officers  of  the  church.  The  presbyter,  with  Clement 
Alexandrinus,  was  the  highest  order  of  the  ministry,  and  occu- 
pied the  chief  seat,  being  clothed  with  the  chief  dignity  in  the 
church,  and  was  therefore  the  true  and  proper  successor  of  the 
apostles."^ 

Tertullian  describes  the  presbyters  as  presiding  among  the 
churches,  administering  the  communion  and  baptizing.  His 
presidents  or  presbyters,  therefore,  cannot  possibly  refer  to  ruling 
elders,  who  never  have  been  so  called,  or  supposed  to  be  capable 
of  any  of  those  functions.  Preachers,  therefore,  must  be  the  presi- 
dents of  Tertullian,  that  is,  the  presiding  presbyters  of  the  apos- 
tles, who  received  this  office,  says  Tertullian,  "  not  by  money, 
but  by  the  suffrages  of  their  brethren." 

'  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  372.  "  See  Ibid.  p.  373. 

3  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  374.  "  In  his  tract  entitled,  '  .Qnis  dives 
salvetur,'"  says  the  Bishop  ol"  Lincoln  in  his  account  of  his  writings,  "  the  titles 

bishop  and  presbyter  are  indiflerently  applied  to  the  same  person The 

bishop  was,  therefore,  in  truth,  the  chief  presbyter."     Lond.  1835,  p.  464. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  67 

Origen  says,  *'  we  of  the  clerical  order,  who  preside  over 
you ;"  and  in  speaking  of  the  angels  in  the  Apocalypse,  he  says, 
'*that  certain  ruling  presbyters  in  the  churches  were  called 
angels."  Bishops  and  presbyters,  with  Origen,  were  the  same 
order ;  they  ruled  the  church,  in  common,  the  presbyters  pre- 
siding, with  the  bishop,  he  having  a  higher  chair,  and  being 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  bishop.^  Origen  does  unquestion- 
ably allude  to  a  class  of  officers  similar  to  our  ruling  elders, 
but  not  under  the  title  of  presbyters.  ''  There  are,"  he  says,^ 
"  some  rulers  appointed,  whose  duty  it  is  to  inquire  concerning  the 
manners  and  conversation  of  those  who  are  admitted,  that  they 
may  debar  from  the  congregation  such  as  commit  filthiness." 

Cyprian  unquestionably  employs  the  term  presbyter  to  desig- 
nate those  who  were  appointed  to  preach,  administer  the  sacra- 
ments, and  with  the  bishop  or  president  to  govern  the  church. 
He  appears  to  have  had  no  officer  corresponding  to  the  ruling 
elder  in  his  church,  but  to  have  referred  all  matters  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  people  at  large,  as  may  be  seen  from  several  passages 
in  his  epistles.^  Such  is  the  opinion  of  Professor  Jameson,  in 
his  very  able  work  on  the  Cyprianic  polity  of  the  church.  He 
here  abandons  the  position  he  had  taken  in  his  former  works  re- 
specting the  ruling  elder,  and  gives  it  as  his  ultimate  opinion 
that  "  those  elders  are  the  representatives  of  the  sacred  Plebs,  or 
of  the  church,  as  she  is  opposed  unto,  or  distinguished  from 
church  officers,  properly  so  called,  bishops  or  pastors,  and  dea- 
cons ;  therefore  that  they  are  not,  in  a  strict  sense,  church  offi- 
cers. For  I  am  so  well  assured  of  this  truth,  that  only  bishops, 
or  presbyters  and  deacons,  are,  in  a  proper  and  strict  sense, 
church  officers,  that  if  any  thing  I  ever  said  can  be  proved  to 
contradict  this,  I  willingly  revoke  and  retract  it." 

Again,  he  says,  "  I  cannot,  indeed,  during  the  first  three 
centuries,  find  express  mention  of  these  seniors  or  ruling  elders : 
for  I  freely  pass  from  some  words  of  Tertullian  and  Origen, 
which  I  elsewhere  overly  mentioned,  as  containing  them  ;  as  also 

*  See  Presbyterj'^  and  Prelacy,  p.  378. 

2  See  Contra  Colsum,  lib.  iii.  p.  142,  in  Dr.  Miller  on  the  Eldership. 
'  See  Ep.   6th,  and  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  380,  &,c.,  and  Jameson's 
Cyprianus  Isotinus. 


08  PATRISTICAL   VIEW    OF   THE 

from  what  I  said  of  the  Ingnatian  presbyters,  their  being  ruling 
or  non-preaching  elders,  and  that  without  giving  of  much  advan- 
tage to  the  Diocesanists,  since  in  or  about  the  Cyprianic  age,  in 
which  time,  as  I  judge,  the  author  or  interpolator  wrote,  there 
were  belonging  to  the  same  church,  parish,  or  congregation,  di- 
vers presbyters,  who  preached  little,  if  any  ;  and  yet  had  power  to 
dispense  the  word  and  sacraments."  There  is  a  passage  indeed 
adduced  by  Dr.  Miller,  which  seems  to  favor  the  distinct  appli- 
cation of  the  term  presbyter  to  those  that  did  not  preach.  It  is 
in  his  twenty-ninth  Epistle,  in  which  as  he  translates  the  words, 
Cyprian  speaks  of  ^^  teaching  presbyters. ^'^  The  words  in  the 
original  are  "  cum  presbyteris  doctoribus.''  Now  were  doctori- 
bus  an  adjective,  qualifying  presbyteris,  persons  authorized  to 
teach,  the  word  would  have  been  docentibus,  and  not  doctoribus. 
That  there  were  then  a  class  of  teaching  presbyters  called  doctors, 
is  evident  from  the  same  epistle,  where  it  is  said  that  Optatus  was 
appointed  doctorem  audientium,  that  is,  a  teacher  of  the  catechu- 
mens, who  were  in  a  state  of  preparation  for  admission  to  the 
church.  The  words,  therefore,  are  to  be  rendered,  "  with  the 
presbyters  and  doctors,"^  or,  "  with  those  presbyters  who  are 
doctors."  Our  reformers  generally  recognized  this  distinction, 
which  was  practically  carried  out  in  Scotland,  and  adopted  in  its 
standards,  and  in  the  Form  of  Government  adopted  by  the  West- 
minster Assembly.^  The  Doctors,  as  distinct  from  the  other 
presbyters  or  teachers,  appear  to  have  continued  longer  in  the 
African  than  in  the  other  churches,  and  are  spoken  of  by 
Origen.'* 

The  testimony  of  Firmilian  is  very  much  to  our  purpose,  and 
in  the  teeth  of  those  who  claim  for  ruling  elders  the  power  of  or- 
dination. He  says,  "  All  power  and  grace  are  placed  in  the 
church,  where  presbyters  presided,  in  whom  is  vested  the  power 
of  baptizing,  and  imposition  of  hands,  and  ordination.^' ^ 

^  Such  is  the  rendering  of  Marshall.     See  his  Works  of  Cyprian,  p.  69. 
'  *  So  it  is  rendered  in  the  recent  Translation  issued  at  Oxford  in  1844,  p.  Gl . 
^  See  the  First  and  Second  Books  of  Discipline,  and  the  Form  referred  to, 
as  it  is  still  in  force  in  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

4  See  this  view  of  the  passage  coufirmed  with  great  learning  by  Vitringa  de 
Synag.  pp.  494-497,  which  I-  read  subsequently. 

5  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  383. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  G9 

In  the  Gesta  Purgationis,  commonly  referred  to  the  fourth 
century,  we  meet  with  the  following  enumeration  of  church  offi- 
cers :  "  Pres^teri,  diaconi  et  seniores,"  that  is  first,  and  as  the 
highest  order,  the  presbi/tcrs  ;  next,  the  deacons  ;  and  then,  the 
seniors,  or  representatives  of  the  people ;  who  are  thus  carefully 
distinguished  from  the  presbyters;  and  also,  in  the  following 
words,  from  the  clergy  generally  :  "  Call  the  fellow-clergymen, 
AND  the  seniors  of  the  people  (seniores  plebis),  ecclesiastical  men." 
In  the  assembly  of  which  they  give  an  account,  several  letters 
were  read,  addressed  "  to  the  clergy  and  the  seniors}  These  ec- 
clesiastical officers  are  also  alluded  to  by  Optatus,  under  the  same 
title  of  "seniors."^ 

Hilary  identifies  bishops  and  presbyters,  and  thus  clearly 
proves  that  he  regarded  presbyters  as  ordained  preachers  and 
pastors.  He  at  the  same  time  alludes  to  a  class  of  officers 
called  seniors,  and  whom  he  distinguishes  from  the  teachers  or 
presbyters.  "  For  indeed,"  says  he,  *'  among  all  nations,  old  age 
is  honorable.  Hence  it  is  that  the  synagogue,  and  afterwards 
the  church,  had  elders,  without  whose  counsel  nothing  was  done 
in  the  church  ;  which  by  what  negligence  it  grew  into  disuse  I 
know  not ;  unless  perhaps  by  the  sloth,  or  rather  by  the  pride  of 
the  teachers,  while  they  alone  wished  to  appear  something." 
He  testifies  also,  that  "  in  Egypt,  even  to  this  day,  the  presbyters 
ordain  in  the  bishop's  absence,"  and  that  "  the  ordination  of 
bishop  and  presbyter  is  the  same,  for  both  are  priests. "^ 

Damasus,  bishop  of  Rome,  (A.  D.  366,)  says,  "  the  primi- 
tive church  only  had  these  two  sacred  orders  of  presbyters  and 
deacons."^ 

Aerius,  in  A.  D.  368,  also  identifies  the  presbyter  and  the 
bishop  as  the  pastor  and  administrator  of  sacraments,  and  the 
minister  also  of  ordination.^ 

Basil,  in  A.  D.  370,  in  his  Commentary  on  Isaiah  3  :  2,  says, 


*  See  in  Dr.  Miller  on  the  Eldership,  p.  68.     English  edition. 
«  See  do.  do.  p.  70. 

3  See  Prelacy  and  Presbytery,  p.  213,  and  Dr.  Miller  on  the  Eldership,  p..  71. 

*  See  do.  do.  p.  391. 

^  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  391,  and  for  all  the  authorities. 


70  PATRISTICAL    VIEW    OF    THE 

on  the  word  presbyter,  "  Among  the  things  that  are  threatened, 
is  also  the  removal  of  the  presbyter,  seeing  that  the  advantage  of 
his  presence  is  not  small.  A  presbyter  is  he  who  is  dignified 
with  the  first  seat,  and  enrolled  in  the  presbytery,  bearing  the 
character  of  a  presbyter ;  especially,  indeed,  if  he  be  an  unmar- 
ried man,  or  if  even,  according  to  the  law  of  the  Lord,  the  hus- 
band of  one  wife,  having  faithful  children,  etc. ;  this  is  the  pres- 
byter whom  the  Lord  will  take  away  from  a  sinful  people."^ 

Gregory  Nazianzen,  (A.  D.  370,)  in  a  description  of  the 
church  at  Byzantium,  observes,  "  Behold  the  bench  of  presby- 
ters, dignified  by  age  and  understanding ;  the  regularity  of  the 
deacons,  not  far  from  the  same  spirit ;  the  decency  of  the  read- 
ers ;  the  attention  of  the  people,  as  well  in  the  men  as  in  the 
women,  equal  in  virtue."  Here  are  only  presbyters,  deacons, 
readers,  and  people,  and  yet,  this  church  cannot  be  presumed  to 
have  been  defective  of  any  class  of  officers  existing  in  other 
churches.  Again,  **  As  the  presbyter  is  a  minister,  he  is  to 
preach  ;  as  he  is  a  ruler,  he  is  to  make  rules  (or  canons)  for 
bishops  and  presbyters.  And  further,  he  ascends  from  being 
governed  to  be  a  governor  ;  again,  he  is  to  feed  the  souls  of  men  ; 
to  lead  and  conduct  others  in  the  way  of  truth  ;  to  act  the  joint 
priest  with  Christ;  to  build  and  rear  up  the  world  that  is  above  ; 
nay,  and  to  be  a  head  of  the  fulness  of  Christ." 

Gregory  Nyssene  (A.  D.  371)  is  equally  explicit  in  appro- 
priating the  term  presbyter  tp  the  pastor  or  minister.  "  Seeing 
to  you,"  he  says,  "  and  to  such  as  you,  adorned  with  hoary  wis- 
dom from  above,  who  are  presbyters  indeed,  and  justly  styled  the 
fathers  of  the  church,  the  word  of  God  conducts  us  to  learn  the 
doctrines  of  salvation,  saying,  (Deut.  32  :  7,)  *  Ask  thy  Father, 
and  he  will  show  thee :  thy  presbyters,  and  they  will  tell  thee.'  " 

Ambrose,  of  Milan,  (A.  D.  374,)  tells  us  we  are  to  under- 
stand by  the  word  **  angels"  in  the  Apocalypse,  the  rectors  or 
presidents,  the  n^offfiansc,  (or  presiding  presbyters,)  because 
angel  means  messenger,  and  they  who  announce  the  word  of  God 
to  the  people  are  not  improperly  called  angels. 

»  See  in  Sancti  Basilii  Opera.  Paris.  1839.  Tom.i.  p.  G36.  The  whole 
passage  is  in  point. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  71 

Epiphanius  says,  *'  They  say  that  he,  (Aerius,)  a  Lybian  by 
descent,  having  become  a  presbyter  in  Alexandria,  presided 
{nQoivTcno)  over  a  church  called  Baucalis.  For  as  many  churches 
as  are  of  the  catholic  church,  at  Alexandria,  are  under  one  arch- 
bishop; and  over  these,  individually,  prcs67/^ers  are  placed,  to 
administer  to  the  ecclesiastical  exigences  of  the  neighboring  in- 
habitants." 

Augustine  is  very  careful  to  distinguish  the  presbyters  from 
the  representatives  of  the  people.  Writing  to  his  charge,  he 
directs  his  epistle,  Dilectissimis  fratribus,  clero  senioribus  et  uni- 
versae  plebi  Ecclesiaae  Ilipponensis  :  where  first  there  is  the  gene- 
ral compellation  fratribus,  **  brethren,"  then  there  is  a  distribu- 
tion of  these  brethren  into  the  clergy,  the  elders,  and  the  whole 
people  ;  so  that  there  were  ii)  that  church  seniors,  distinguished 
both  from  the  clergy  and  the  rest  of  the  people. 

So  again,  Contra  cresconiuni  Grammaticum:  Omnes  vos 
Episcopi,  Preshyteri,  Diaconi,  et  seniores  scitis :  "  All  you 
bishops,  elders,  deacons,  and  seniors,  do  know."  And  again, 
cap.  56,  Peregrinus  Presbyter,  et  seniores  Ecclesics  MusticancB 
Regiones  tale  desiderium  prosequentur ;  where  again  we  read  of 
presbyter  and  seniors  in  one  church. 

These  seniors  had  power  to  reprove  offenders,  otherwise  why 
should  Augustine  say,  "  when  they  were  by  the  seniors  reproved 
for  their  errors,  and  drunkenness  is  laid  to  a  man's  charge,  etc. 
So  that  it  was  proper  to  the  seniors  to  have  the  cognizance  of 
delinquents  and  to  reprove  them." 

The  same  Augustine,  in  Psalm  36,  says,  "  Being  requested 
by  letters  from  the  seniors  of  that  church,  it  was  needful  for  me 
to  hear  the  cause  of  Primian,"  etc. 

The  letter  of  Purpurius  to  Silvanus  saith,  Adhihite  conclericos, 
ct  seniores  plehis,  Ecclesiasticos  Viros,  et  inquirant  quce,  sunt  istcs 
Dissensiones  :  ut  ea  qucc  sunt  secundum  Jidei  Proiceyta  jiant — 
where  we  see  the  joint  power  of  these  seniors  with  the  clergy  in 
ordering  ecclesiastical  affairs  ;  that  by  their  wisdom  and  care 
peace  might  be  settled  in  the  church  ;  for  which  cause  these 
seniors  are  called  ecclesiastical  men;  and  yet  they  are  distin- 
guished from  clergymen. 

They  are  mentioned  again  afterwards  by  Maximus,  saying, 


72 


PATRISTICAL   VIEW    OP    THE 


Loquor  nomine  seniorum  populi  Christiani.  Greg.  Mag.  dis- 
tinguisheth  them  also  from  the  clergy  :  Tabellarium  cum  con- 
sensu seniorum  et  cleri  memineris  ordinanclum. 

So  again  Optatus,  who  mentioning  a  persecution  that  did 
for  a  while  scatter  the  church,  saith,  Erant  ecclesicB  ex  auro  et 
argento  quam  jilurima  ornamenta,  quce  nee  dcfodere  terrcE  nee 
secum  portare  poterat,  quare  jidelihus  senioribus  commendavit. 
Allaspineus,  that  learned  antiquary,  on  this  place  acknowledges, 
that  besides  the  clergy  there  were  certain  of  the  elders  of  the 
people,  men  of  approved  life,  that  did  tend  the  affairs  of  the 
church,  of  whom  this  place  is  to  be  understood.' 

But  it  is  enough.  The  same  uniform  testimony  will  be 
found  to  be  given  by  all  the  Fathers  who  write  on  this  subject 
at  all,  as  may  be  seen  in  my  examination  of  their  testimony,  in 
another  place,^  and  in  the  numerous  proofs  there  given  of  the 
facts  that  ordination  and  imposition  of  hands  were  regarded  in 
the  early  church,  and  by  many  later  fathers,  as  the  functions  of 
presbyters  who  were  identified  with  bishops,  as  the  pastors  and 
preachers  of  the  church.^  Any  one  who  will  consult  Binius, 
will  find  that  presbyters  were  the  pastors  of  the  churches,  and 
might  even  ordain  ;^  that  he  quotes  the  fourth  Council  of  Carthage 
as  decreeing  that  the  seniors  of  the  churches  should  be  esteemed 
worthy  of  great  honor ,5  that  they  were  anciently  called  senatus 
pauper  in  the  church  of  Rome^ — that  in  Africa  all  the  officers 
of  the  church,  of  whatever  degree,  who  were  associated  with  the 
bishop  in  the  government  of  the  church,  were  called  his  senate;' 
and  that  if  these  officers  undertook  to  ordain,  they  were  punish- 
ed. Such  also  is  the  undoubted  opinion  of  the  schoolmen,  who 
recognize  only  the  two  orders  of  prebsyters  or  bishops,  and  dea- 

^  See  these  passages  in  Smectymnuus,  p.  74. 

2  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  pp.  397-408. 

^  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  B.  i.  eh.  x,  pp.  212-234.  Various  addi- 
tional authorities  may  be  found  in  Martene  de  Antiq.  Eccl.  Ritibus.  See  Index, 
order  jyresbyter,  and  the  various  volumes  referred  to. 

4  Binii  Concilia  Generalia,  tom.  iv.  p.  558  ;  vii.  731  ;  i.  742,415,530,734, 
573,  400  ;  ix.  406  ;  vii.  731  and  887  ;  iii.  835.  See  also  Morinus  de  Sacr. 
Eccl.  Ordinationibus,  pt.  iii.  p.  27G,  §5,  &c. 

•^  Tom.  i.  p.  730,  Can.  83.  «  Tom.  i.  p.  85. 

'  See  tom.  ix.  Index  "  Sf^vep." 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  73 

cons;i  of  all  the  Oriental  churches;'^  of  many  prelatists;^  and  of 
the  universal  church. ^  Nothing,  therefore,  can  be  more  cer- 
tain, as  it  appears  to  our  minds,  than  the  fact  that  the  term 
PRESBYTER  (Tigsa^SvifQog)  IS  every  where  throughout  the 
New  Testament,  and  in  the  writings  op  the  fathers,  to 

BE  understood  OF  THE  TEACHERS  OR  PRESBYTERS,  AND  NEVER 
OF  THE  RULING  ELDERS  OR  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  PEOPLE 

nor  can  we  see  any  weight  in  any  reason  which  has  been  as- 
signed for  the  opposite  opinion,  nor  any  necessity  for  adopting 
it  in  order  to  sustain  the  scriptural  claims  and  character  of  the 
ruling  elder.  On  the  contrary,  the  application  of  the  titles  of 
presbyter  and  bishop  to  these  officers  obscures  the  whole  ques- 
tion of  the  polity  of  the  apostolic  churches  ;  renders  ambicruous 
and  general  the  very  title  upon  which  the  order  of  the  ministry 
rests ;  weakens,  and  in  some  measure  nullifies,  our  arguments 
for  one  order  of  ministers  against  the  pretensions  of  prelacy; 
leaves  the  distinction  between  ministers  and  ruling  elders  alto- 
gether indefinite;  leads  to  wrong  and  misconceived  views  of  the 
nature  and  duties  of  ruling  elders  ;  gives  origin  to  the  whole  con- 
troversy now  agitating  the  church  respecting  the  rights  of  elders  to 
ordain ;  and  would  eventually  destroy  either  the  separate  order  oj 
ministers  or  the  separate  order  of  ruling  elders,  since,  if  both  are 
to  be  understood  by  the  same  terms,  both  must  possess  the  quali- 
fications required  by  those  to  whom  these  terms  are  given,  and 
both,  therefore,  must  be  required  to  discharge  all  the  duties  of 
the  officers  thus  qualified  and  named. 

Before  leaving  this  branch  of  our  subject  it  may  be  proper  to 
support  our  views  by  one  or  two  authorities.  Mr.  Boyce  in  his 
very  able  and  learned  work,  "  A  Clear  Account  of  the  Ancient 
Episcopacy,"  says,^  "  I  confess  many  of  the  reformed  churches 
have  a  sort  of  elders  that  are  not  the  same  with  the  presbyters 
of  the  primitive  church,  because  the  latter  were  properly  or- 
dained to  the  sacred  office  of  the  ministry,  and  empowered 
thereby  to  baptize,  preach,  and.^  administer  the  sacraments, 
when  desired  by  the  parochial  bishops,  whose  curates  they  were. 

'  Tom.  i.  p.  731.  =  g^e  do.  do.  pp.  409-414. 

•^  See  do.  do.  p.  415,  «&c.  -»  See  do.  do.  p.  223,  &c. 

*  London,  1712,  p.  208. 


74  PATRISTIC  A  L    VIEW    OF    THE 

But  even  these  very  elders  in  the  reformed  churches  do  very  well 
answer  to  the  seniores  plebis,  that  were  distinct  from  the  presby- 
ters, and  were  of  laudable  use  in  the  primitive  church,  (as 
Blondel  has  fully  shown  in  his  book,  De  Jure  Plebis  in  regimine 
Ecclesiastico.") 

Grotius  says,  ''that  the  perpetual  offices  in  the  church  are 
two,  that  of  presbyters  and  deacons.  Those  I  call  presbyters, 
with  all  the  ancient  church,  who  fed  the  church  with  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel,  the  sacraments,  and  the  keys."  (De  Imperio, 
c.  X.  p.  267;  in  ibid.  p.  39.)  "By  all  which,"  say  the  authors 
of  Smectymnuus,  who  were  members  of  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly, *'  it  is  apparent,  first,  that  in  the  ancient  church  there 
were  some  called  seniors;  secondly,  that  these  seniors  were  not 
clergymen  ;  thirdly,  that  they  had  a  stake  in  governing  the 
church  and  managing  the  affairs  thereof;  and  fourthly,  that 
seniors  were  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  people."' 

It  will  be  interesting  to  illustrate  this  subject  from  the  his- 
tory of  the  church  in  England.  Among  the  Culdees  we  know 
that  there  was  always  a  number  of  lay  brethren  associated  with 
the  presbyters  in  the  government  of  their  communities.  Many 
of  the  Culdees  were  laymen.  Bede  himself  admits,  says  Jame- 
son,2  |.}jat  of  the  many  who  daily  came  from  the  country  of  the 
Scots  into  the  province  of  the  Angles  over  which  Oswald  reigned, 
only  some  were  presbyters,  where  he  limits  the  term  presbyter  to 
those  who  could  preach  and  baptize. 

Every  member  of  the  fraternity  or  college  had  a  right,  whether 
lay  or  clerical,  "  to  sit,  speak,  and  reason  in  their  S^nodical  as- 
semblies."^ Boece  says  that  before  the  time  of  Palladius  "  the 
people  by  their  suffrages  chose  Bishops  from  the  Monks  and 
Culdees."^  Sir  James  Dalrymple  says  that  "  in  electing  the 
bishop  they  must  have  the  consensus  religiosorum  virorum 
civitatis,  which  must  be  meant  of  the  laics  and  its  like,  also  the 
laics  had  the  same  sh^re  in  settling  the  Culdees,  who  were 
their  pastors."^ 

*  See  also  Vitringa  de  Syn.  pp.  479,  482,  484,  and  Fleury's  Hist.  Eccl, 
torn,  viii.,  in  Luing,  p.  314. 

*  Hist.  p.  66,  67.  ^  Jameson,  in  eo.  p.  57. 
«  In  Ibid.  p.  98,  99.                                    '•>  Collections, p.  134. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  75 

**  And  herein  alsoof  questmen,"  says  Burns  in  his  Ecclesias- 
tical Laws,  **  sidesmen,  or  assistants.  Note,  the  office  of  church- 
wardens, so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  repairs  or  other  matters  con- 
cerning the  church,  is  treated  of  under  the  title  Church  ;  their  cog- 
nizance of  crimes  andoffences,  falleth  in  under  the  title  Visitation; 
and  other  branches  of  their  duty,  under  divers  other  titles  respec- 
tively ;  here  it  is  treated  only  concerning  their  office  in  general, 
or  such  other  particulars  as  do  not  fall  in  more  properly  elsewhere. 

"  In  the  ancient  Episcopal  Synods,  the  bishops  were  wont  to 
summon  divers  creditable  persons  out  of  every  parish,  to  give 
information  of,  and  to  attest  the  disorders  of  clergy  and  people. 
These  were  called  testes  synodales ;  and  were  in  after  times  a 
kind  of  impanelled  jury,  consisting  of  two  or  three  or  more  per- 
sons in  every  parish,  who  were  upon  oath  to  present  all  heretics 
and  other  irregular  persons.     Ken.  Par.  Ant.  649. 

"  And  these  in  process  of  time  became  standing  officers  in  sever- 
al places,  especially  in  great  cities,  and  from  hence  were  called 
Synod's  men,  and  by  corruption  sidesmen ;  they  are  also  some- 
times called  questmen,  from  the  nature  of  their  office,  in  making 
inquiry  concerning  offignces. 

*'  But  for  the  most  part  this  whole  office  is  now  devolved  upon 
the  churchwardens,  together  with  that  other  office  which  their 
name  more  properly  importeth,  of  taking  care  of  the  church 
and  of  the  goods  thereof,  which  they  had  of  very  ancient  time."^ 

"By  Can.  118.  The  churchwardens  and  sidesmen  shall  be 
chosen  the  first  week  after  Easter,  or  some  week  following,  ac- 
cording to  the  direction  of  the  ordinary. 

"  And  by  Can.  89.  All  churchwardens  or  questmen  in  every 
parish,  shall  be  chosen  by  the  joint  consent  of  the  minister  and 
the  parishioners,  if  it  may  be  ;  but  if  they  cannot  agree  upon 
such  a  choice,  then  the  minister  shall  choose  one,  and  the  par- 
ishioners another ;  and  without  such  a  joint  or  several  choice 
none  shall  take  upon  them  to  be  churchwardens.'"^ 

•'  Again,"  says  Burns,  "  the  ancient  method  was  not  only  for 
the  clergy,  but  the  body  of  the  people  within  such  a  district,  to 
appear  at  Synods,  or  (as  we  now  call  them)  general  visitations; 

^  Bums'  Eccl.  Law,  vol.  i.  p.  398.  2  p^  ^^  p  401. 


76  PATRISTICAlr   VIEW    OF    THE 

(for  what  we  now  call  visitations  were  really  the  annual  synods, 
the  laws  of  the  church  by  visitations  always  being  visitations 
parochial ;)  the  way  was,  to  select  a  certain  number,  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  ordinary,  to  give  information  upon  oath  concern- 
ing the  manners  of  the  people  within  the  district  ;  which  per- 
sons the  rule  of  the  canon  law  upon  this  head  supposes  to  have 
been  selected,  while  the  synod  was  sitting  ;  but  afterwards,  when 
the  body  of  the  people  began  to  be  excused  from  attendance,  it 
was  directed  in  the  citation,  that  four,  six,  or  eight,  according  to 
the  proportion  of  the  district,  should  appear  together  with  the 
clergy,  to  represent  the  rest,  and  to  be  the  testes  synodales,  as 
the  canon  law  elsewhere  styles  them.  But  all  this  while,  we 
find  nothing  of  churchwardens  presenting,  till  a  little  before  the 
reformation,  when  we  find  the  churchwardens  began  to  present, 
either  by  themselves,  or  with  two  or  three  more  credible  parish- 
ioners joined  with  them  ;  and  this  (as  was  before  observed) 
seemeth  evidently  to  be  the  original  of  that  office  which  our 
canons  call  the  office  of  sidesmen  or  assistants.  Id.  59, 
60,  61."i 

"  Every  churchwarden,"  he  adds,  "  is  also  an  overseer  of  the 
poor  by  the  statute  of  the  43  el.  c.  2,  and  as  such  is  joined  with 
the  overseer  appointed  by  the  justices  of  the  peace  in  all  matters 
relating  to  the  poor ;  and  indeed  the  churchwardens  were  the 
original  overseers  long  before  there  were  any  others  specially 
appointed  by  act  of  parliament. 

"  By  Can.  89.  Th^  churchwardens  or  questmen  shall  not 
continue  any  longer  than  one  year  in  that  office,  except  perhaps 
they  be  chosen  again  in  like  manner." 

The  Rev.  William  Jones,  in  his  Churchman's  Catechism,  in 
reference  to  the  same  subject,  says,  "  What  lay-officers  have  au- 
thority to  act  for  the  discipline  of  the  church  ? 

*'  The  churchwardens,  chancellors,  officials  and  officers  of  the 
court  should  be  laymen. 

"Why  so? 

"That  the  people  when  they  are  corrected  for  their  offences 
may  not  think  themselves  hardly  dealt  with  ;  the  persons  to  whom 
they  are  committed  being  of  their  own  order. 
'  Burns'  Eccl.  Law,  vol.  i.  p.  405. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  7T 

"  How  long  have  lay  officers  acted  in  the  affairs  of  the 
church? 

"  Almost  ever  since  the  conversion  of  the  Roman  empire,  for 
1300  years;  when  persons  learned  in  the  laws  were  granted  to 
the  Christians  for  settling  their  differences."^ 

*  Works,  vol.  xi.  p.  421.  See  also  Conder's  View  of  Religions,  p.  165.  Ber- 
nard, in  his  work  on  the  Synagogue,  says,  the  seniors  v/ere  *'  somewhat  analo- 
gous to  our  churchwardens." 


CHAPTER    IV. 

The  views  of  the  Reformers  on  the  subject  of  the  Eldership,  and  on  the  appli- 
cation to  it  of  the  term  Presbyter. 

We  deem  it  altogether  unnecessary  to  adduce  any  proof 
that  the  reformed  churches  generally  adopted  the  principle  that 
the  laity  had  a  right  to  participate  in  the  government  of  the 
church ;  and  that  as  generally  they  carried  out  this  belief  by  the 
appointment  of  delegated  representatives,  chosen  by  the  people, 
and  most  commonly  called  seniors,  elders,  assistants,  commis- 
sioners, or  by  some  similar  and  analogous  name.  Dr.  Miller  has 
left  every  one  without  excuse  who  doubts  either  of  these  posi- 
tions.^ And  the  fact  that  the  laity  were  so  represented  in  the  an- 
cient British  churches,  in  the  Waldensian  churches,  and  also  in 
the  Syrian  churches  in  the  distant  East,  where  lay  representatives 
of  the  people  continue  to  exist  to  the  present  day,  is  very  strong 
presumption  of  its  apostolic  origin  and  practice. 

From  these  ancient  churches,  Calvin  and  the  other  reformers 
adopted  their  principles  of  ecclesiastical  polity  and  discipline. 
Now  besides  ministers  of  the  word  and  sacraments,  the  Wal- 
denses  always  had,  and  held  to  be  necessary,  "  a  certain  college 
of  men,"  to  use  the  words  of  Bucer  concerning  them,  "  excel- 
ling in  prudence  and  gravity  of  spirit,  whose  office  it  is  to  ad- 
monish and  correct  offending  brethren."  In  their  ancient  disci- 
pline, which  dates  back  to  the  twelfth  century,  after  treating  of 
ministers  or  pastors,  it  goes  on  to  say,  that  "  God  has  given  to 
his  people  to  choose  from  themselves  guides  (or  pastors)  of  the 

*  See  his  work  on  the  Ruling  Elder,  and  Letters  on  the  Christian  Minisfry, 
2ded. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS    ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  79 

people,  and  ancients  in  their  charges  according  to  the  diversity 
of  the  work  in  the  unity  of  Christ."^  In  the  Confession  of  Faith 
now  in  use  among  them,  these  officers  are  called  "les  anciens," 
that  is,  ancients,  seniors,  or  elders  :^  "  selon  la  pratique  de  T- 
Eglise  Ancienne,"  "  according  to  the  practice  of  the  ancient 
church,"  where  the  same  word  is  used.  It  is  hence  apparent 
that  among  the  Waldenses  the  term  presbyter,  which  is  in  Span- 
ish, prcshytcro,  and  in  French,  presbtre,  or  prestrCy  was  not  ap- 
plied by  them  to  the  representatives  who  sit  in  their  assemblies, 
but  the  words  "  regidors  del pohle  et  preires,"  and  as  it  regards  or- 
dination, it  is  expressly  provided  by  their  Discipline  (Article  93) 
that  "  the  body  of  the  pastors  of  the  church  shall  give  the  impo- 
sition of  hands. "^ 

This  point  is  important  to  our  argument,  for  it  can  be  shown 
that  the  whole  institution  of  the  office  of  ruling  elders  in  the  re- 
formed churches,  may  be  traced  to  the  Waldenses.  The  Bohe- 
mian brethren,  it  is  well  known,  were  a  branch  of  the  Walden- 
ses, having  removed  from  Picardy  about  two  hundred  years  be- 
fore the  time  of  Huss.  Now  in  their  form  of  government  we 
have  the  following  direction  :  "  Tell  it  to  the  Church,"  that  is,  to 
the  ''  Guides,  whereby  the  Church  is  ruled  ;"  and  that  we  may  be 
at  no  loss  who  these  "  Rulers"  were,  we  are  told,  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  that  they  were  seniors  chosen  from  among  the  people 
for  the  purpose  of  governing ;  and  informed  that  they  were  dis- 
tinct from  the  pastors.*  And  in  a  Confession  drawn  up  by  them 
in  the  year  1535,  they  say,^  "  Elders  {Preshyteri,  seu  Censores 
morum)  are  honest,  grave,  pious  men,  chosen  out  of  the  whole 
congregation,  that  they  may  act  as  guardians  of  all  the  rest.     To 

^  This  is  the  translation  given  in  Perrin's  History  of  the  Waldenses,  translated 
by  Lennard.  Lond.  1624.  p.  54.  And  that  these  mean  the  ruling  elders  appears 
from  p.  73,  where  he  calls  them  "  the  pastors  and  ancients,"  and  in  reference 
to  their  synods.  See  the  original  in  Moreland,  and  quoted  in  Plea  for  Presby- 
tery, p.  350,  and  given  also  in  Blair's  Hist.  vol.  i.  p.  533,  and  Presbytery  and 
Prelacy,  p.  511. 

2  See  Le  Livre  de  Famille,  &c.  Geneve,  1830.  Conf.  of  F.  art.  XXXI.  p. 
103. 

^  Discipline  of  the  Vaudois. 

*  See  Dr.  Miller  on  the  Eldership,  p.  108,  2d  ed. 

*  Do.  do.  p.  110. 


80  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS 

them  authority  is  given,  (either  alone,  or  in  connexion  with  the 
pastor,)  to  admonish  and  rebuke  those  who  transgress  the  pre- 
scribed rules,  also  to  reconcile  those  who  are  at  variance,  and  to 
restore  to  order  whatever  irregularity  they  may  have  noticed. 
Likewise  in  secular  matters,  relating  to  domestic  concerns,  the 
younger  men  and  youths  are  in  the  habit  of  asking  their  counsel, 
and  being  faithfully  advised  by  them.  From  the  example  and 
practice  of  the  ancient  church,  we  believe  that  this  ought  always 
to  be  done.  See  Ex.  18  :  21.  Deut.  1  :  18.  1  Cor.  6  :  2-4,  5. 
1  Tim.  5:  17." 

Comenius,  the  Bohemian  historian,  and  last  bishop  or  super- 
intendent, calls  these  the  assistants  of  the  pastor,  and  says  : 
"  Such  are  our  seniors  ;  they  are  styled  judges  of  the  congrega- 
tion or  censors  of  the  people,  and  also  ruling  elders."' 

Now  mark  the  bearing  of  this  on  our  present  inquiry.  Lu- 
ther, in  some  of  his  early  writings,  had  expressed  an  unfavorable 
opinion  of  the  Bohemian  brethren  ;  but,  upon  being  more  fully 
informed  of  their  doctrine  and  order,  and  more  especially  of 
their  provision  for  maintaining  sound  discipline,  by  means  of 
their  Eldership  in  each  congregation,  he  changed  his  opinion, 
and  became  willing  both  to  speak  and  to  write  strongly  in  their 
favor.  Hence  his  highly  commendatory  Preface  to  their 
"  Confession  of  Faith,"  of  which  mention  has  been  already 
made.  And  hence,  at  a  still  later  period,  the  following  strong 
expressions  in  favor  of  the  same  peopJe :  "  There  hath  not 
arisen  any  people,  since  the  times  of  the  apostles,  whose  church 
hath  come  nearer  to  the  apostolical  doctrine  and  order,  than  the 
brethren  of  Bohemia." 

"  Bucer,  Ihe  Swiss  reformer,  having  largely  conversed  with 
two  of  the  Waldensian  pastors,  declared,  that  they  have  preserved 
among  them  the  discipline  of  Christ,  which  constrains  us  to  give 
them  this  praise."  In  1533,  Melancthon  wrote  them  as  follows  : 
"In  reality  I  do  not  at  all  disapprove  of  that  very  severe  manner 
of  exercising  the  discipline,  which  is  practised  in  your  churches. 
Would  to  God  it  were  enforced  with  a  little  more  rigor  in  ours." 

We  have  also  evidence  that  to  them  Calvin  was  indebted  for 

'  See  Dr.  Miller  on  the  Eldership,  p.  114. 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  81 

his  idea  of  this  office.^  "  We  know  that  this  venerable  man  be- 
before  he  was  expelled  from  Geneva  1538,  and  while  he  was 
struggling  and  suffering  so  much  for  want  of  an  efficient  disci- 
pline, made  no  attempt  to  introduce  the  institution  in  question." 
When  Calvin  first  settled  in  Geneva  in  1536,  he  found  the  re- 
formed religion  already  introduced  and  to  a  considerable  extent 
supported,  under  the  ministry  of  Farel  and  Viret,  two  bold  and 
faithful  ad vocatesof  evangelical  truth.  Such,  however,  was  the  op- 
position made  to  the  doctrines  which  they  preached,  and  especially 
to  the  purity  of  discipline  which  they  struggled  hard  to  establish, 
by  the  licentious  part  of  the  inhabitants,  among  whom  were  some 
of  the  leading  magistrates,  that  in  1538,  Calvin  and  his  col- 
leagues were  expelled  from  their  places  m  the  Genevan  church, 
because  they  refused  to  administer  the  Lord's  Supper  to  the 
vilest  of  the  population  wlio  chose  to  demand  the  privilege.  In  a 
paroxysm  of  popular  fury,  those  faithful  ministers  of  Christ  were 
commanded  to  leave  the  city  within  two  days.  During  this  tem- 
porary triumph  of  error  and  profligacy,  Calvin  retired  to  Stras- 
burg,  where  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Divinity  and  pastor  of 
a  church,  and  where  he  remained  nearly  four  years. 

In  1540,  the  year  before  he  was  recalled  to  Geneva,  he  cor- 
responded with  the  Bohemian  brethren^  and  made  himself  partic- 
ularly acquainted  with  their  plan  of  church  government,  which 
he  regarded  with  deep  interest ;  an  interest  no  doubt  greatly 
augmented  by  the  sufferings  which  he  had  recently  undergone  in 
fruitless  efforts  to  maintain  the  purity  of  ecclesiastical  discipline; 
in  which  efforts  he  had  been  baffled  chiefly  by  the  want  of  such 
an  efficient  system  as  the  Bohemian  churches  possessed.  *'  It 
was  when  in  Strasburg,"  says  Mr.  Lorimer  in  his  work  on  the 
Eldership,  p.  162,  "  that  he  was  led  more  fully  to  study  the  office 
of  the  Ruling  Elder,  especially  in  connection  with  the  history  of 
the  Bohemian  and  Waldensian  churches,  which  could  trace  their 
origin  to  a  very  remote  antiquity,  and  which  had  always  enjoyed 
the  advantage  of  a  numerous  and  powerful  body  of  such  officers. 
Calvin  clearly  saw  that  it  was  only  an  ecclesiastical  staff  of  this 

^  See  Dr.  Miller  on  the  Eldership,  p.  118,  and  116  and  117.     Also,  Dr. 
Laing's  Religion  and  Education  in  America,  p.  315. 

6* 


82  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS 

kind  which  could  remedy  such  disorders  as  those  which  had  pre- 
vailed at  Geneva;  that,  in  short,  had  the  ministers  been  support- 
ed by  a  suitable  body  of  representatives  from  the  congregation, 
the  tumult  would  in  all  probability  never  have  occurred."  In 
the  course  of  his  correspondence,  while  yet  in  exile  for  his  fidel- 
ity, Calvin  addressed  the  Bohemian  pastors  in  the  following 
pointed  terms : — **  I  heartily  congratulate  your  churches,  upon 
which,  besides  sound  doctrine,  God  hath  bestowed  so  many  ex- 
cellent gifts.  Of  these  gifts,  it  is  none  of  the  least  to  have  such 
pastors  to  govern  and  order  them  ; — to'  have  a  people  themselves 
so  affected  and  disposed ; — to  be  constituted  under  so  noble  a 
form  of  government ; — to  be  adorned  with  the  most  excellent 
discipline,  which  we  justly  call  most  excellent,  and  indeed  the 
only  bond  by  which  obedience  can  be  preserved.  I  am  sure  we 
find  with  us,  by  woful  experience,  what  the  worth  of  it  is,  by  the 
want  of  it;  nor  yet  can  we  by  any  means  attain  to  it.  On  this 
account  it  is,  that  I  am  often  faint  in  my  mind  and  feeble  in  the 
discharge  of  my  duties.  Indeed  I  should  quite  despair  did  not 
this  comfort  me,  that  the  edification  of  the  church  is  always  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  which  he  himself  will  carry  on  by  his  own 
power  though  all  help  besides  should  fail.  Yet  still  it  is  a  great 
and  rare  blessing  to  be  aided  by  so  necessary  a  help.  Therefore 
I  shall  not  consider  our  church  as  properly  strengthened,  until 
they  can  be  bound  together  by  that  bond."  And  the  pious  his- 
torian after  giving  this  extract  from  the  venerable  Reformer  adds; 
"  It  so  happened,  in  the  course  of  divine  Providence,  that,  not 
long  afterwards,  this  eminent  man  was  recalled  to  minister  in  the 
church  of  Geneva,  where  he  established  the  very  same  kind  of  dis- 
cipline which  is  now  famed  throughout  the  world." 

In  the  year  1541  Calvin  says  : — **  I  detailed  to  the  senate  my 
labor;  I  showed  them  that  the  church  could  not  stand,  unless  a 
certain  form  of  government  were  appointed,  such  as  is  prescribed 
to  us  in  the  word  of  God,  and  was  observed  in  the  ancient 
church.  I  then  touched  certain  heads,  whence  they  might  un- 
derstand what  I  wished.  But  because  the  whole  matter  could 
not  be  explained,  I  begged  that  there  should  be  given  us 
those  who  might  confer  with  us.     Six  were  appointed   to  us. 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  83 

Articles  will  be  written  concerning  the  whole  government  of  a 
church,  which  we  shall  afterwards  lay  before  the  senate.'" 

The  committee  at  Geneva  reported,  laws  were  prescribed, 
and  a  constitution  instituted  by  the  General  Council,  on  the  20th 
of  Nov.  1541.  The  consistory  was  to  contain  a  double  number 
of  laymen,  chosen  annually  ;  that  is,  at  first  it  consisted  of  the 
six  ministers,  two  laymen  from  the  lesser  senate,  or  council  of 
twenty-five;  and  ten  from  the  greater,  or  council  of  two  hun- 
dred ;  one  of  the  syndics  presiding.  That  Calvin  did  afterwards, 
says  Dr.  Wilson,  attempt  to  justify  the  reception  of  lay  presby- 
ters, from  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  his  writings  evince.  It 
is  perfectly  clear,  nevertheless,  that  it  was  adopted  at  first  by  him 
as  an  expedient  for  reducing  the  church  at  Geneva  to  a  state  of 
discipline,  which  should  secure  the  reformation  at  that  place. 
He  probably  preferred  the  name  consistory,  because  the  judica- 
tory was  composed  of  laymen  and  elders,  for  since  ordination  is 
by  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery,  if  those  laymen  were 
members  of  a  presbytery,  then  they  must  impose  hands,  and  give 
an  authority  which  they  possessed  not.  As  if  apprehensive,  also, 
of  the  impropriety  of  denominating  men  presbyters  who  had  re- 
ceived no  ordination,  he  called  them  inspectors. "^ 

Such  then  was  the  original  of  Calvin's  lay  representatives  of 
the  people.  And  that  he  did  not  regard  them  as  properly  enti- 
tled io  the  nhme  of p7'esbi/t€i's  appears,  not  only  from  the  different 
name  he  gave  to  the  court  of  which  they  formed  a  part,  and  the 
name  he  gave  to  them,  but  from  h-is  positive  instructions.  In  his 
Institutions,  Book  4,  chap.  3,  he  has  the  following  passage,  which 
is  explicit.  "  In  calling  those  who  preside  over  churches  by  the 
appellations  of"  Bishops,"  "  Elders"  and  "  Pastors,"  without  any 
distinction,  I   have  followed  the   usage  of  the  Scriptures,  which 

»  Epist.  50. 

'  "  Non  solos  verbi  ministros  sedere  judices  in  consistorio  ;  sed  numerum 
duplo  majorem  partim  ex  minori  senatu  ex  delectis  senioribus  esse,  ut  vocant, 
partim  ex  majore  deligi,ad  haec  unum  fere  ex  syndicis  praesidere."  Epist.  167. 
"  Deliguntur  quotannis  duodecim  seniores  ;  nempe  ex  minori  senatu  duo,  reliqui 
ex  ducentis,  sive  sint  indigenae  sive  ascriptitii  cives.  Qui  probe  et  fideliter 
munere  suo  perfuncti  sunt,  loco  non  moventur  ;  nisi,"'&c.  See  Dr.  Wilson  on 
the  Gov't  of  the  Ch.  p.  237. 


84  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS 

apply  all  these  terms  to  express  the  same  meaning.  For  to  all 
who  discharge  the  ministry  of  the  word,  they  give  the  title  of 
*' Bishops."  So  when  Paul  enjoins  Titus  to  "  ordain  elders  in 
every  city,"  he  immediately  adds, ''  for  a  bishop  must  be  blame- 
less." So  in  another  place,  he  salutes  more  bishops  than  one  in 
one  church.  And  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  he  is  declared  to 
have  sent  for  the  elders  of  the  church  of  Ephesus,  whom  in  his 
address  to  them  he  calls  ''  Bishops."  Here  it  must  be  observed 
that  we  have  enumerated  only  those  offices  which  consist  in  the 
ministry  of  the  word;  nor  does  Paul  mention  any  other  in  the 
4th  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  which  we  have  quoted. 
But  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  and  the  first  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  he  enumerates  others,  as  "  powers,"  "  gifts  of  heal- 
ing," "  interpretation  of  tongues,"  "governments,"  "  care  of  the 
poor."  Those  functions  which  are  merely  temporary,  1  omit,  as 
foreign  to  our  present  subject.  But  there  are  two  which  perpet- 
ually remain,  "  governments,"  and  "  the  care  of  the  poor." 
*'  Governors,"  I  apprehend  to  have  been  persons  of  advanced 
years,  selected  from  the  people  to  unite  with  the  bishops  in  giving 
admonition  and  exercising  discipline.  For  no  other  interpreta- 
tion can  be  given  of  that  injunction,  "  He  that  ruleth  let  him  do 
it  with  diligence."  For  from  the  beginning,  every  church  has 
had  its  senate,  or  council,  composed  of  pious,  grave  and  holy 
men,  who  were  invested  with  that  jurisdiction,  for  the  correction 
of  vices,  of  which  we  shall  soon  treat.  Now,  that  this  was  not 
the  regulation  of  a  single  age,  experience  itself  demonstrates. 
This  office  of  government  is  necessary  therefore  in  every  age." 

Dr.  Miller  has  undoubtedly  shown  that  both  Zuingle  and 
QEcolompadius  before  the  time  of  Calvin  had  openly  taught  the 
scriptural  claims  of  the  office  of  ruling  elders,  whom  they  denom- 
inated elders  of  another  kind,  that  is,  senators,  leaders  or  counsel- 
lors, or  as  the  latter  calls  them,  in  accordance  with  ancient  usage, 
^'  seniors.''^  A  consistory  was  established  at  Zuric,  A.  D.  1525, 
"  for  the  decision  of  matrimonial  and  other  causes  which  had 
hitherto  been  carried  before  the  bishop  of  Constance,"  and   an- 


*  Scott's  Continuation  of  Milnor,  vol.  2,  p.  521. 
2  On  the  Eldership,  ch.  vi.  p.  121,  122. 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  85 

Other  at  St.  Gallen,  A.  D.  1526,  for  the  same  objects.'  But  the 
constitution  of  these  courts  shows  plainly  that  whatever  may 
have  been  the  subsequent  views  of  these  reformers,  they  did 
not  regard  the  office  of  ruler  in  the  light  in  which  we  now 
consider  the  ruling  elder.  For  in  both  cases  the  members  of 
these  courts  were  chosen  either  by  the  state,  as  at  Zuric,  or  by 
popular  vote.  Zuinglethus  delineates  his  views. ^  '*  I  will  briefly 
explain  the  use  made  of  the  council  in  these  affairs,  since  we  are 
calumniated  by  some  for  leaving  to  the  decision  of  two  hundred 
persons,  that  which  ought  to  be  referred  to  the  whole  church, 
consisting  of  seven  thousand.  Thus  then  the  case  stands.  We 
the  ministers  of  Zuric  have  some  time  back  freely  admonished 
the  council  that  we  consent  to  refer  to  them  what  properly  be- 
longs to  the  judgmeMt  of  the  lohole  church,  on  no  other  condition 
than  this,  that  in  their  deliberations  and  decrees  they  shall  take 
the  word  of  God  for  their  guide.  We  have  reminded  them  also, 
that  they  on  no  other  terms  stand  in  the  place  of  the  church,  than 
as  the  church  has  voluntarily  (^benigne)  consented  to  receive 
their  decrees.  We  proclaimed  the  same  sentiments  to  the 
church  at  large  ;  observing  to  them,  that  in  times  like  these, 
when  numbers  are  swayed  by  perverse  affections,  which  they 
would  vainly  have  to  be  taken  for  the  suggestions  of  the  Spirit, 
many  things  cannot  be  safely  committed  to  the  votes  of  a  mul- 
titude :  not  that  we  have  any  apprehensions  that  God  would  de- 
sert his  church,  but  because,  while  all  its  institutions  are  yet 
green  and  tender  among  us,  the  occasions  of  contention  are  to 
be  avoided.  We  have  recommended  it  therefore  to  the  people 
to  leave  to  the  council  the  regulation  of  external  matters,  under 
the  direction  of  the  word  of  God  ;  promising  that,  if  ever  we  see 
the  authority  of  that  word  likely  to  be  disregarded,  we  will  not 
fail  to  cry  out  and  give  them  warning.  To  this  the  church  has 
hitherto  consented,  not  by  any  formal  resolution,  but  by  a  peace- 
able and  grateful  acquiescence."  He  then  refers  to  a  scriptural 
example,  by  which  he  conceives  such  a  course  to  be  sanctioned, 
and  proceeds  :  "  That  the  council  in  these  affairs  acts  not  in  its 

*  Scott's  Continuation  of  Milnor,  p.  578. 

2      Do.  do.  do.     vol.  ill.  p.  32,  and  p.  91,  and  T.  Op.  ii.  248. 


8G  VIEWS    OF    THK     REIOKMEKS 

own  name,  but  in  that  of  the  church,  is  evident  from  this,  that 
whatever  is  determined  here,  in  Zuric,  (as  for  instance  concerning 
images,  the  eiicharist  and  the  like,)  is  left  free  to  the  churches  in 
the  country,  which  consist  of  smaller  numbers,  to  be  adopted  or 
rejected,  as  seems  to  them  fit.  And  our  measures  have  so  suc- 
ceeded that  the  blessing  of  God  upon  them  is  manifest.  We 
are  likewise  careful  so  to  instruct  the  people  on  those  subjects 
on  which  the  council  has  to  decide,  that  whatever  the  latter,  in 
conjunction  with  the  ministers,  ordains,  is,  in  fact,  already  or- 
dained in  the  minds  of  the  faithful." 

"  A  General  Synod  also  of  the  clergy  of  the  canton  was  ap- 
pointed, to  assemble  twice  every  year,  with  one  of  the  burgomas- 
ters and  eight  members  of  the  council,  (somewhat  resembling, 
therefore,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,)  to 
superintend  the  doctrine  and  manners  of  the  clergy,  and  the 
conduct  of  all  ecclesiastical  affairs." 

QEcolompadius,  however,  makes  an  entire  distinction  between 
the  church  and  the  state,  on  which  subject  he  delivered  a  copious 
oration  before  the  council  of  Berne.  He  there  takes  the  position 
''  that  what  may  or  even  can  be  done  by  the  magistrate  does 
not  supersede,  indeed  that  it  scarcely  at  all  takes  the  place  of,  a 
well  administered  church  discipline." 

In  "The  Confession  of  the  Churches  of  Switzerland,"  adopted 
as  a  platform  of  union  and  agreement  at  the  conference  held  at 
Basle,  A.  D.  1536,  drawn  up  by  Bullinger,  Myconius  and  Gryn- 
ceus,  and  translated  into  English  by  the  Scottish  Martyr, 
George  Wishart,  about  A.  D.  1540,  in  Art.  xviii.  it  calls  minis- 
ters "presidents,  heads  and  teachers.",  In  Art.  xix.,  which 
treats  of  '*  the  duty  of  ministers  or  officers,"  it  declares  that 
one  end  of  the  ministry  is,  "  that  by  a  godly  consent  and  agree- 
ment of  them  who  are  chosen  by  the  ministers  or  magistrates 
for  correction,"  &c.  And  in  Art.  xvii.  of  "the  choosing  minis- 
ters or  officers,"  it  is  declared  that  their  election  "  is  well  and 
justly  approved  by  the  voice  of  the  church  and  the  imposition  of 
the  hands  of  the  heads  of  the  priests,"  that  is,  of  those  appointed 
to  the  duty.  Now,  from  this  we  learn,  that  in  accordance  with 
our  interpretation  of  1  Tim.  5  :  17,  moderators  are  called  presi- 
dents ;  that  ruling  elders  are  not  called  by  this  name  nor  founded 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  87 

upon  any  express  divine  authority,  but  are  called  officers  chosen 
by  the  ministers  or  magistrates;  and  that  only  ministers  were 
authorized  to  assist  in  the  imposition  of  hands ;  and  lastly,  that 
these  were  the  views  taken  by  the  early  founders  of  the  Scottish 
church.' 

We  introduce  these  quotations  the  rather  because  they  con- 
firm so  pointedly  our  view  of  the  foundation  on  which  the  office 
of  ruling  elders  as  representatives  of  the  people  rests — the  power 
given  by  Christ  to  every  member  of  his  church,  to  take  part  in 
the  ecclesiastical  government  of  his  church,  and  the  power 
therefore  of  the  people  to  act  in  this  matter,  either  as  a  body  or 
by  chosen  delegates,  as  the  example  of  the  Scripture  warrants, 
and  which  experience  has  so  fully  justified  as  both  wise  and 
necessary. 

Other  Swiss  cantons  hearing  of  the  ''  orders'^  of  Geneva,  were 
led  to  imitate  them.  Calvin,  in  reply  to  one  church  which  sought 
his  advice,  says,  "  it  would  certainly  be  great  impudence  to  dis- 
approve of  that  in  your  case,  which  we  ourselves  have  adopted 
as  both  good  and  useful.'"^  Geneva  and  Lausanne,  from  their 
contiguity  to  France,  so  greatly  influenced  the  work  of  reforma- 
tion in  that  kingdom,  that,  so  early  as  1550,  the  reformed  socie- 
ties of  that  country  were  generally  in  communion  with  the 
church  at  Geneva,  and  had  adopted  the  doctrines  of  Calvin.  The 
Gallic  confession,  exhibited  to  Charles  IX.  in  1561,  thus  ex- 
presses their  views  :  "  We  believe  that  the  true  church  ought  to 
be  governed  by  that  discipline  which  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has 
decreed ;  namely,  that  there  should  be  in  it  pastors,  presbyters 
or  seniors,  and  deacons;  that  purity  of  doctrine  may  be  pre- 
served, vice  restrained,  the  poor  and  others  in  affliction  provided 
for,"  &,c. 

In  the  next  century,  the  churches  were  left  by  the  acts  of  the 
synod  of  Charenton,  in  1645,  to  their  choice  on  the  subject  of 
elders.^ 

Calvin's  discipline  spread    from  France  to  the  Netherlands. 

'  See  a  republication  of  this  inaccessible  Tract,  and  of  Wisliart's  Translation 
in  the  Miscellany  of  the  Wodrow  Society,  vol.  i.  Eduit.  1844.  Art.  1. 
2  Ep.  55. 
^  See  quoted  below. 


bo  VIEWS  OF  Tin:  reformers 

For  these  churches,  when  scattered  by  persecution,  held  a  synod 
at  Emden  in  1569,  at  which  it  was  agreed,  "  that  in  the  French 
congregations,  the  Geneva  catechism  might  be  held,  and  in  the 
Dutch  that  of  Heidelberg."  Also,  they  declared  that  '*  no 
church  shall  have,  or  exercise  dominion  over  another,  and  no 
minister,  elder,  or  deacon,  shall  bear  rule  over  others  of  the  same 
degree;"   which  is  Calvin's  order. 

The  first  presbytery  erected  in  England,  was  convened  in 
1572,  when  eleven  elders  were  chosen,  and  their  proceedings 
were  entitled,  "  The  Orders  of  Wadsworth ;"  imitating  the  style 
of  the  order  of  the  church  at  Geneva. 

Knox  visited  Geneva  in  1554,  and  became  the  disciple  and 
friend  of  Calvin,  and  used  both  at  Frankfort  and  at  Geneva,  in 
the  English  congregation  over  which  he  presided,  "  The  Book  of 
Common  Order,"  which  Calvin  assisted  in  drawing  up.  In  this 
there  is  provision  made  for  "  an  assembly  or  consistory"  of"  the 
pastors  or  ministers"  and  "  elders,"  who  are  thus  carefully  dis- 
tinguished in  their  titles,  and  also  in  their  functions.  For  of  min- 
isters, of  whom  it  recognizes  two  kinds,  **  the  pastor"  and  "  the 
teacher  or  doctor,'''  (ch.  i.  and  iv.)  it  is  said,  their  "  chief  office 
standeth  in  preaching  the  word  of  God  and  ministering  the 
sacraments,"  under  which  terms  it  evidently  includes  ordination, 
since  it  quotes  in  proof  of  this  general  definition  of  power,  Acts 
13 :  2,  3,  where  the  presbyters  of  Antioch  ordained  Paul  and 
Barnabas  for  the  work  whereunto  God  had  called  them,  (see  ch. 
i.)  Of  elders  it  is  said,  "they  differ  from  the  ministers  in  that 
they  preach  not  the  word  nor  minister  the  sacraments,"  (ch.  ii.) 
where  the  same  definition  is  repeated,  so  that  elders  are  of  course 
excluded  from  the  work  of  ordination  and  imposition  of  hands. 

In  the  following  year  Knox,  with  others,  drew  up  "  The 
First  Book  of  Discipline,"  which  was  adopted  in  Scotland. 
This  provides  for  the  election  of  "  elders"  or  "seniors,"  (ch.  x. 
§§  2,  5, 8,)  which  last  name  is  most  frequently  used.  "  The  elec- 
tion (ch.  X.  §  3)  of  elders  and  deacons  ought  to  be  made  every 
year  once,  which  we  judge  to  be  most  convenient  on  the  first 
day  of  August;  lest  of  long  continuance  of  such  officers,  men 

'  Dr.  Wilson,  p.  247. 


ON    Tllli    ELUEHSHir.  Oil 

presume  upon  the  liberty  of  the  kirk  :  (and  yet)  it  hiirtelh  not 
that  one  be  received  in  office  more  years  than  one,  so  that  he  be 
appointed  yearly  (thereto)  by  common  and  free  election ;  pro- 
vided always,  that  the  deacons  and  treasurers  be  not  compelled 
to  receive  the  (same)  office  again  for  the  space  of  three  years. 
How  the  votes  and  suffrages  may  be  best  received,  so  that  every 
man  may  give  his  vote  freely,  every  several  church  may  take 
such  order  as  best  seems  (to)  them, 

"The  elders  being  elected,  must  be  admonished  of  their 
office,  which  is  to  assist  the  ministers  in  all  public  affiiirs  of  the 
church;  to  wit,  in  determining  and  judging  causes,  in  giving 
admonition  to  the  licentious  liver,  in  having  respect  to  the  man- 
ners and  conversation  of  all  men  within  their  charge.  For  by 
the  gravity  of  the  seniors,  the  light  and  unbridled  life  cf  the 
licentious  must  be  corrected  and  bridled. 

**  We  think  it  not  necessary,"  it  is  added,  ''that  any  public 
stipend  shall  be  appointed,  either  to  the  elders,  or  yet  to  the  dea- 
cons, because  their  travel  continues  but  for  a  year ;  and  also  be- 
cause that  they  are  not  so  occupied  with  the  affairs  of  the  church, 
but  that  reasonably  they  may  attend  upon  their  domestic  busi- 
ness."^ 

It  is  further  provided,  (chap.  iv.  §  10)-  that  "other  ceremony 
than  the  public  approbation  of  the  people,  and  declaration  of  the 
chief  minister,  that  the  person  there  presented  is  appointed  to 
serve  the  church,  we  cannot  approve  ;  for  albeit  the  apostles 
used  imposition  of  hands,  yet  seeing  the  miracle  is  ceased,  the 
using  of  the  ceremony  we  judge  not  necessary." 

It  will  however  be  observed,  that  all  that  was  regarded  as 
equivalent  to  imposition  of  hands  was  then  performed  by  theprc- 

'  Dr.  McCrie,  in  the  second  volume  of  his  life  of  Calvin,  proves  that  the  con- 
tinued practice  of  the  church,  was  the  "  annual  election"  of  elders :  see  also 
Dr.  Alton's  Life  of  Henderson,  p.  336.  This  author  adds,  "  A  layman  as 
elder  cannot  moderate  in  the  assembly,  or  in  any  other  church  court,  because 
such  meetings  begin  and  end  with  prayer,  and  ruling  elders  have  no  calling  to 
pray  pubUcly  in  our  church ;  they  are  but  assistants  in  discipline." 

'  This  opinion  respecting  imposition  of  hands,  was  not  peculiar  to  the  Re- 
formers, but  common  also  to  the  Romish  doctors.  See  Calderwood's  Altare 
Damascenum,  p.  174,  175.  See  also  Seaman's  Vindication  of  Ordination 
p.  75.  78  ;  and  Courayer  on  English  Ordination,  passim. 


90  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS 

siding  minister,  without  any  concurrence  of  the  elders  in  the 
act. 

In  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline,  which  was  adopted  in  1578, 
and  continued  in  force  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  until  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Westminster  standards,  in  chap.  ii.  it  is  said,  "  The 
whole  policy  of  the  kirk  consisteth  in  doctrine,  discipline,  and 
distribution.  With  doctrine  is  annexed  the  administration  of 
sacraments,"  including  of  course  ordination,  as  in  the  Book  of 
Common  Order  ;  *'  and  according  to  the  parties  of  this  division, 
arises  a  threefold  sort  of  office-bearers  in  the  kirk,  to  wit,  of 
ministers  or  preachers,  elders  or  governors,  and  deacons  or  dis- 
tributors." 

There  are  (chap.  ii.  §  6)'  four  ordinary  functions  or  offices 
in  the  church  of  God  :  the  office  of  the  pastor,  minister,  or 
bishop  ;  the  doctor  ;  the  presbyter  or  elder  ;  and  the  deacon. 

It  is  added,  (chap.  iii.  §  3,)  *'  All  these  should  take  these 
titles  and  names  only  (lest  they  be  exalted  and  puffed  up  in 
themselves)  which  the  Scriptures  give  unto  them,  as  those  which 
import  labor,  travel,  and  work,  and  are  names  of  offices  and  ser- 
vice and  not  of  idleness,  dignity,  worldly  honor,  or  pre-eminence, 
which  by  Christ  our  master  is  expressly  reproved  and  forbidden." 

The  duty  of  the  pastors  is  thus  expressed  (chap.  iv.  §  6-12)  : 
*'  Unto  the  pastors  appertains  teaching  of  the  word  of  God,  in  sea- 
son and  out  of  season,  publicly  and  privately,  always  travelling 
to  edify  and  discharge  his  conscience,  as  God's  word  prescribes 
to  him. 

"  Unto  the  pastors  only  appertains  the  administration  of  the 
sacraments,  in  like  manner  as  the  administration  of  the  word  ; 
for  both  are  appointed  by  God  as  means  to  teach  us,  the  one  by 
the  ear,  and  the  other  by  the  eyes  and  other  senses,  that  by  both 
knowledge  may  be  transferred  to  the  mind. 

*  In  chapter  xi.  §  9,  it  is  added,  "  As  to  bishops,  if  the  name  CTnaKoiros  be 
properly  taken,  tliey  are  all  one  with  the  ministers,  as  before  was  declared.  For 
it  is  not  a  name  of  superiority  and  lordship,  but  of  office  and  watching.  Yet, 
because  in  the  corruption  of  the  church,  this  name  (as  others)  has  been  abused, 
and  yet  is  likely  to  be  ;  we  cannot  allow  the  fashion  of  their  new  chosen  bishops, 
neither  of  the  chapiters  that  are  electors  of  them  to  such  offices  as  they  are 
chosen  to.'* 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  91 

*'  It  appertains  by  the  same  reason  to  the  pastors  to  pray  for 
the  people,  and  namely  for  the  flock  committed  to  his  charge,  and 
to  bless  them  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  who  will  not  suffer  the 
blessings  of  his  faithful  servants  to  be  frustrated. 

"  He  ought  also  to  watch  over  the  manners  of  his  flock,  that 
the  better  he  may  apply  the  doctrine  to  them  in  reprehending  the 
dissolute. persons,  and  exhorting  the  godly  to  continue  in  the  fear 
of  the  Lord. 

**  It  appertains  to  the  minister,  after  lawful  proceeding  by  the 
eldership,  to  pronounce  the  sentence  of  binding  and  loosing  upon 
any  person,  according  unto  the  power  of  the  keys  granted  unto 
the  church. 

*'  It  belongs  to  him  likewise,  after  lawful  proceedings  in  the 
matter  by  the  eldership,  to  solemnize  marriage  betwixt  them  that 
are  to  be  joined  therein  ;  and  to  pronounce  the  blessing  of  the 
Lord  upon  them  that  enter  in  that  holy  band  in  the  fear  of  God. 

*'  And  generally  all  public  denunciations  that  are  to  be  made 
in  the  kirk  before  the  congregation,  concerning  the  ecclesiastical 
aflfairs,  belong  to  the  office  of  a  minister  ;  for  he  is  a  messenger 
and  herald  betwixt  God  and  the  people  in  all  these  aff"airs." 

The  office  of"  Doctor"  is  maintained  and  fully  described  in 
Chapter  fifth.  ^ 

Of  ''  elders"  who  do  not  "  labor  in  word  and  doctrine," 
(chap.  vii.  §  1,)  it  is  said,  (chap,  vi.,)  "  The  word  Elder  in  the 
Scripture  sometimes  is  the  name  of  age,  sometimes  of  office. 
When  it  is  the  name  of  an  office  sometimes  it  is  taken  largely, 
comprehending  as  well  the  pastors  and  doctors,  as  them  who  are 
called  seniors  or  elders. 

**  In  this  our  division  we  call  these  elders  \\  horn  the  Apostles 
call  presidents  or  governors.  "^Fheir  office,  as  it  is  ordinary  so  it 
is  perpetual,  and  always  necess  ry  in  the  church  of  God.  The 
eldership  is  a  spiritual  function,  as  is  the  ministry.  Elders  once 
lawfully  called  to  the  office  and  having  gifts  of  God  meet  to  exer- 
cise the  same,  may  not  leave  it  again.  Albeit  such  a  number  of 
elders  may  be  chosen  in  certain  congregations,  that  one  part  of 

*  There  is  thought  to  be  an  allusion  to  this  office  in  1  Cor.  14 :  30.  See 
Bernard's  Synagogue  and  the  Church,  p.  249. 


^  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS 

them  mny  relieve  another  for  a  reasonable  space,  as  was  among 
the  Levites  under  the  law  in  serving  of  the  temple.  The  num- 
ber of  the  elders  in  every  congregation  cannot  well  be  limited, 
but  should  be  according  to  the  bounds  and  necessities  of  the 
people." 

Of  church  sessions  it  is  said,  (chap.  vii.  §  10,)  ''  The  first  kind 
and  sort  of  assemblies,  although  they  be  within  particular  con- 
gregations, yet  they  exercise  the  power,  authority,  and  juris- 
diction OF  the  church  with  mutual  consent,  and  therefore 
bear  sometimes  the  name  of  the  church.  When  we  speak  of  the 
elders  of  the  particular  congregations,  we  mean  not  that  every 
particular  parish  church  can  or  may  have  their  own  particular 
elderships,  specially  to  landwart,  but  we  think  three  or  four, 
more  or  fewer  particular  churches,  may  have  one  common  elder- 
ship to  them  all,  to  judge  their  ecclesiastical  causes.  Albeit  this 
is  meet,  that  some  of  the  elders  be  chosen  outof  every  particular 
congregation,  to  concur  with  the  rest  of  their  brethren  in  the 
common  assembly,  and  to  take  up  the  delations  of  offences  within 
their  own  churches,  and  bring  them  to  the  assembly.  This  we 
gather  of  the  practice  of  the  primitive  church,  where  elders  or 
colleges  of  seniors  were  constituted  in  cities  and  famous  places." 

As  for  elders,  it  is  added  in  chap.  xii.  §  5,  "  There  would  be 
some  to  be  censurers  of  the  manners  of  the  people,  one  or  more 
in  every  congregation;  but  not  an  assembly  of  elders  in  every 
particular  church,  but  only  in  towns  and  famous  places  where 
resort  of  men  of  judgment  and  ability  to  that  effect  may  be  had, 
where  the  elders  of  the  particular  churches  about  may  convene 
together,  and  have  a  common  eldership  and  assembly  place  among 
them,  to  treat  of  all  things  that  concern  the  congregations  of 
which  they  have  the  oversight." 

In  *'  The  Form  of  Process  of  the  Judicatories  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,"  adopted  in  1707,  chap.  i.  §  2,  it  is  said,»  "  It  is 
agreeable  to  and  founded  on  the  word  of  God,  that  some  others, 
besides  those  who  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine,  be  church 
governors,  to  join  with  the  ministers  of  the  word  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  church,  and  exercise  of  discipline  and  oversight  of 

'  See  Books  of  Discipline,  &.c.    Edinburgh,- 1836.  p.  131. 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  93 

the  manners  of  the  people,  which  officers  are  called  ruling  elders  : 
as  also  that  the  church  be  governed  by  several  sorts  of  judicato- 
ries, and  one  in  subordination  to  the  other,  such  as  church  ses- 
sions, presbyteries,  provincial  synods,  and  general  assemblies." 

In  Stewart's  Collections,  which  was  formerly  of  authority  in 
this  country  as  well  as  in  Scotland,  we  find  among  much  to  the 
same  purpose  the  following  hints  : — 

In  Book  I.  Title  I.  §  21,^  "  Our  church  doth  condemn  any 
doctrine  that  tends  to  support  the  people's  power  of  ordaining 
their  ministers;  for  by  the  5th  act  of  Assembly,  1698,  upon  in- 
formation that  a  divine  of  the  Church  of  England  had  in  his  ser- 
mon charged  them  as  corrupters  of  the  word  of  God,  who,  to  fa- 
vor popular  ordinations,  had  caused  that  passage  of  Scripture, 
Acts  6.  3,  "  whom  we  may  appoint  over  this  business,"  to  be 
printed  ''  whom  ye  may  appoint,"  &c.,  they  did  unanimously 
disclaim  the  above-mentioned  error  of  the  press,  and-did  declare 
they  did  not  own  any  other  reading  of  that  text  to  be  according 
to  the  original  but  "  whom  we  may  appoint,"  &c.  This  of 
course  limits  ordination  to  ministers. 

Describing  the  form  of  ordination  services,  it  is  said,  {'^  24,) 
"  In  the  most  conspicuous  place  of  the  church,  and  near  to  the 
pulpit,  a  table  and  seats  being  placed,  where  the  brethren  of  the 
presbytery,  the  heritors  and  elders  of  the  congregation,  with  the 
magistrates  and  council,  when  in  burghs  royal,  are  to  sit,  together 
with  the  intrant,  so  that  all  the  ministers  may  conveniently 
give  him  imposition  of  hands,  and  the  others  may  take  him  hy  the 
hand,  when  thereunto  called;  the  minister  is  to  come  from  the 
pulpit  to  the  foresaid  place,  where  the  intrant  kneeling  (for  the 
more  decent  and  convenient  laying  on  of  hands)  and  the  brethren 
standing,  he,  as  their  mouth,  in  their  Master's  name  and  autho- 
rity, doth  in  and  by  prayer  set  the  candidate  apart  (not  only  the 
minister  who  prays  but  all  the  brethren  that  conveniently  can, 
laying  their  hands  upon  his  head)  to  the  office  of  the  ministry, 
invoking  God  for  his  blessing  to  this  effect." 

In  Title  VII.  of  Ruling  Elders,  it  is  said,  "  He  is  called  a 

'  See  Edinb.  ed.  1709.  4to.  And  also  a  Compendium  of  the  Law  of  the 
Ch.  of  Scotland,  vol.  i.  p.  194. 


94  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS 

ruling  elder,  because  to  rule  and  govern  the  church  is  the  chief 
part  of  his  charge  and  employment  therein ;  and  albeit  he  may 
act  as  a  deacon,  yet  his  principal  business  is  to  rule  well,  and  it 
belongs  not  to  him  to  preach  or  teach."  "  Their  ordination  is 
to  be  hy  the  minister  of  the  congregation,  or  hy  one  from  the 
presbytery ,  in  the  case  above  supposed,  in  the  presence  of  the 
congregation,  upon  a  Lord's  day  after  sermon  is  ended  in  the 
forenoon ;  at  which  time,  the  minister  calling  upon  the  persons 
chosen  to  be  elders,  they  are  to  be  interrogated  concerning  their 
orthodoxy,  and  to  be  taken  solemnly  engaged  to  adhere  to  and 
maintain  the  doctrine,  worship,  discipline,  and  government  of  the 
church,  and  to  lay  themselves  forth,  by  their  office  and  example, 
to  suppress  vice,  cherish  piety,  and  exert  discipline  faithfully  and 
diligently.  Then  the  elders  chosen,  still  standing  up,  the  minis- 
ter is  next,  by  solemn  prayer,  to  set  them  apart,  in  verbis  de  pre- 
senti.  After  prayer  the  minister  is  to  exhort  both  elders  and 
people  to  their  respective  duties. 

*'  The  duties  of  elders  which  are  more  public  are  those  which 
lie  upon  them  in  the  assemblies  of  the  church,  in  which  ruling 
elders  have  right  to  reason  and  vote  in  all  matters  coming  before 
them,  even  as  ministers  have;  for  to  general  assemblies  their 
commissions  bear  them  to  the  same  power  with  pastors.  How- 
beit,  by  the  practice  of  our  church,  the  execution  of  some  decrees 
of  the  church  doth  belong  to  the  pastors  only  ;  such  as  the  impo- 
sition of  hands,  the  pronouncing  the  sentences  of  excommunica- 
tion and  absolution,  the  receiving  of  penitents,  the  intimation  of 
sentences  and  censures  about  ministers,  and  such  like.  In  short, 
the  elder  is  to  speak  nothing  to  the  church  from  the  pulpit." 

In  Title  IX.  of  Moderators,  it  is  said,  '*  Seeing  the  moderator 
is  frequently  called  to  exercise  the  power  of  order,  as  solemn 
public  ecclesiastic  prayer,  at  least  twice  every  session,  to  wit,  at 
its  first  opening,  and  then  at  its  closing,  authoritative  exhortation, 
rebuke,  direction,  it  is  convenient  the  moderator  be  always  a 
minister."' 

^  Another  reason  is  assigned  in  a  very  old  Scotch  work,  "  The  Case 
of  the  Accommodation  examined,"  p.  24.  "  Where  the  Session  doth  consist 
of  one  minister,  both  a  preaching  and  a  ruling  elder,  and  the  other  elders  of  the 
congregation,  who  are  but  his  helpers  in  discipline,  his  different  quality,  with  the 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  95 

In  Title  XII.  of  Presbyters,  it  is  said,  ''The  directory  for 
government  saith,  that  to  perform  any  classical  act  of  govern- 
ment or  ordination,  there  shall  be  present  at  least  a  major  part  of 
the  ministers  of  the  whole  classis." 

That  the  views  here  given  of  the  power  of  the  ruling  elders, 
is  accordant  to  the  uniform  practice  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
is  proved  by  undeniable  evidence.  Calderwood  asserts  the  fact 
that  ruling  elders  did  not  lay  on  hands  in  his  day,  and  adds, 
*'  Finally,  though  we  should  grant  this  act  (the  laying  on  of  hands) 
to  be  a  sacrament,  and  that  the  administrators  of  this  sacrament  are 
Pastor-presbyters  only,  still  the  others  will  not  thereby  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  Presbytery,  (1  Tim.  4.  14,)  because  the  laying  on 
of  hands  does  not  belong  to  them ;  for  the  imposition  of  hands 
may  be  called  the  *'  imposition  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery," 
although  each  and  every  one  of  the  Presbytery  have  not  the 
power  of  imposing  hands.  It  is  enough  that  the  leading  part  of 
the  Presbytery  have  that  power,  just  as  the  tribe  of  Levi  is  said 
to  offer  incense,  when  it  was  the  prerogative  of  the  priests  only." 

The  same  fact  which  is  ascertained  bythe  AltareDamascenum, 
is  also  established  in  the  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  by 
the  same  illustrious  author.^ 

This  matter  is  set  at  rest  by  the  following  communication,  ad- 
dressed to  Dr.  Miller,  by  one  of  the  most  accomplished  anti- 
quaries of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  which  we  take  the  liberty 
of  transcribing,  in  order  still  more  widely  to  give  it  circulation  : 

''  The  first  question  is,  *  Did  the  Ruling  Elders  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  under  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline,  ever,  in  fact, 
lay  on  hands  in  the  ordination  of  Pastors?'  As  the  question  re- 
fers to  matter  of  fact,  it  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  any  exami- 
nation of  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline  itself,  which,  in  my 
humble  opinion,  gives  no  countenance  to  the  notion  that  Ruling 
Elders  should  lay  on  hands  in  ordination,  any  more  than  that  they 
should  preach  the  sermon,  or  offer  up  the  ordination  prayer.     In 


double  honor  allowed  to  him  by  the  Apostle,  doth  abundantly  determine  the 
moderatorship  in  his  favor." 

^  See  Altare  Damascenum,  cap.  xii.  de  administr.  Laicis,  p.  689,  and  in 
Dr.  Miller,  Office  of  Ruling  Elders,  p.  128. 


96  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS 

point  of  fact,  I  do  not  remember  any  instance  in  which  such  a 
practice  was  observed  under  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline ; 
and  I  have  had  frequent  opportunities  of  examining,  with  this  or 
similar  objects  in  view,  such  works  as  Calderwood's  Larger  His- 
tory;  'The  Book  of  the  Universal  Kirk;'  Scott's  MSS.  in  the 
Advocate's  Library,  (in  which  he  gives  frequent  notices  of  the 
election  of  Elders  and  Deacons,  during  both  periods  of  the 
Reformation,)  and  the  other  documents  of  that  period. 

"  But  the  best  way  of  arriving  at  satisfaction  on  this  point  is 
by  consulting  the  writings  of  our  Reformers,  who  have  treated 
expressly  of  the  subject.  The  first  authority  I  may  cite  is  that 
of  the  celebrated  Alexander  Henderson,  in  the  treatise  which  it 
is  well  ascertained  was  written  by  him,  and  published  in  the  year 
1641,  two  years  before  the  Westminster  Assembly  sat  down,  en- 
tilled  '  The  Government  and  Order  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.' 
In  this  treatise,  which  was  written  for  the  information  of  the 
English,  and  contains  minute  details  of  the  practice  observed  at 
ordinations,  he  says,  section  ii.,  when  speaking  of  the  ordination 
of  Ministers — 'The  Minister  cometh  from  the  Pulpit,  and,  with 
as  many  of  the  Ministers  present  as  may  conveniently  come  near, 
lay  their  hands  upon  his  head,  and  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  do  ap- 
point him  to  be  the  pastor  of  that  people.' 

"  In  another  treatise,  by  the  well  known  Samuel  Rutherford, 
entitled,  *  A  Peaceable  Plea  for  Paul's  Presbytery  in  Scotland,' 
and  published  in  1642,  the  same  fact  is  repeatedly  brought  out, 
and  the  practice  defended  on  scriptural  grounds,  as  well  as  the 
nature  of  the  ministerial  office.  He  says,  '  Every  where,  in  the 
word,  where  pastors  and  elders  are  created,  there  they  are  ordain- 
ed by  Pastors.'  p.  37.  '  Ordination  of  pastors  is  never  given  to 
people,  or  believers,  or  to  Ruling  Elders,  but  still  to  Pastors,  as 
is  clear  from  1  Tim.  5 :  22  ;  Titus  1:5;  Acts  6:6;  Acts  13  : 
3  ;  2  Tim.  1  :  6 ;  1  Tim.  4  :  14.'  p.  190.  In  this  treatise  Ruther- 
ford argues  on  the  principle  that  if  believers,  who  are  not  pastors 
may  ordain  pastors,  they  may  again  depose  and  excommunicate, 
which,  says  he,  '  are  the  highest  acts  of  jurisdiction  ;  and  then 
may  they  preach  and  baptize,  not  being  called  ministers ;  then 
may  the  Sacraments  be  administrate,  where  there  are  no  pastors, 
which  is  absurd,  even  to  the  separatists  themselves.'  p.  67. 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP,  97 

"  To  these  authorities  I  may  be  permitted  to  add  that  of  James 
Guthrie,  of  Sterling,  who,  in  his  treatise  of  Elders  and  Deacons, 
observes — '  Hovvbeit  the  execution  of  some  decrees  of  the  Church 
Assemblies,  such  as  the  imposition  of  hands — the  pronouncing 
the  sentence  of  excommunication — the  receiving  penitents — the 
intimation  of  the  deposition  of  Ministers,  and  such  like,  do  be- 
long to  Ministers  alone'  Guthrie  follows  throughout  the  rules 
laid  down  in  the  first  and  second  Books  of  Discipline.  I  am  not 
aware  that  in  the  matter  of  ordination,  there  was  the  slightest 
variation  made  from  the  order  of  these  books,  after  the  Westmin- 
ster Assembly,  which  affected  the  point  in  question." 

We  now  come  to  the  Westminster  Assembly.  Here  the  sub- 
ject of  ruling  elders  gave  origin  to  "  many  a  brave  dispute  for 
ten  days."  Besides  the  Independents,  "  sundrie,"  says  Baillie,' 
"  of  the  ablest  were  flat  against  the  institution  of  any  such  officer 
by  divine  right— such  as  Dr.  Smith,  Dr.  Temple,  Mr.  Gataker, 
Mr.  Vines,  Mr.  Price,  Mr.  Hall,  and  many  more,  beside  the  In- 
dependents, who  truly  spake  much  and  exceedingly  well.  The 
most  of  the  synod  was  in  our  opinion,  and  reasoned  bravely  for 
it;  such  as  Mr.  Seaman,  Mr.  Walker,  Mr.  Marshall,  Mr.  New- 
comen,  Mr.  Young,  Mr.  Calamy.  Sundry  times  Mr.  Hendersone, 
Mr.  Rutherford,  Mr.  Gillespie,  all  three,  spoke  exceedingly  well. 
When  all  were  tired,  it  came  to  the  question.  There  was  no 
doubt  but  we  would  have  carried  it  by  far  most  voices ;  yet  be- 
cause the  opposites  were  men  very  considerable,  above  all  gracious 
and  learned  little  Palmer,  we  agreed  upon  a  committee  to  satisfy, 
if  it  were  possible,  the  dissenters." 

Again  he  adds,^  *'  We  have  been  in  a  pitiful  labyrinth  these 
twelve  days,  about  Ruling  Elders  ;  we  yet  stick  into  it." 

Again  he  says,^  "  We  have,  after  very  many  days'  debate, 
agreed,  nemine  contradicente,  that  beside  ministers  of  the  word, 
there  is  other  ecclesiastic  governours  to  join  with  the  min- 
isters of  the  word  in  the  government  of  the  church ;  that  such 
are  agreeable  unto,  and  warranted  by  the  word  of  God,  especially 

^  Baillie's  Letters  and  Journals.  Edinb.  1841.  vol.  ii.  p.  110. 
2         Do.         do.         p.  115. 
2         Do.         do.         pp,  116,  117. 
6 


98  VIEWS    OF   THE    REFORMERS 

the  12th  Rom.  8;  1  Cor.  13:  28;  that  in  the  Jewish  church,  the 
Elders  of  the  people  did  join  in  Ecclesiastic  government  with  the 
Priests  and  Levites,  according  to  2  Chron.  19:  8.  How  many 
and  how  learned  debates  we  had  on  these  things,  in  twelve  or 
thirteen  sessions  from  nine  to  half-past  two,  it  were  long  to 
relate." 

Again,  speaking  of  Church  Sessions,  he  says,^  "  For  our  ses- 
sions, a  great  party  in  the  Synod,  for  fear  of  Ruling  Elders,  and 
in  opposition  to  Independencie,  will  have  no  ecclesiastic  court  at 
all,  but  one  Presbyterie  for  all  the  congregations  within  its 
bounds." 

It  is  thus  manifest  that  the  Westminster  Assembly  could  not 
unite  in  affirming  the  divine  institution  of  the  office  of  Ruling 
Elders,  and  that  they  did  not  regard  them  as  referred  to  in  the 
passage  in  1  Tim.  5:  17.  In  "  the  Grand  Debate  concerning 
Presbytery  and  Independency  by  the  Assembly  of  Divines, ^  the 
language  is,  "the  ministers  and  ruling  governors,"  or  "  govern- 
ing officers,"^  and  all  that  the  Assembly  could  agree  upon  was, 
that  "  it  is  agreeable  to,  and  warranted  by  the  word  of  God,  that 
some  others  besides  the  ministers  of  the  word,  or  church  gover- 
nors, should  join  with  the  ministers  in  the  government  of  the 
church."*  Such  is  the  uniform  language  of  "  The  Form  of 
Government"  issued  by  this  Assembly,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  refer- 
ence to  it  under  the  heads  of  "  Officers  of  the  Church,"  **  Other 
Church  Governors,"  ''  Of  the  Officers  of  a  Particular  Congrega- 
tion," *'  Of  Classical  Assemblies,"  and  throughout  the  whole 
work ;  and  never  on  one  occasion  do  they  appropriate  to  such 
elders  the  passage  in  1  Tim.  5:  17,  or  call  them  by  the  name 
there  supposed  to  be  given  to  such  officers,  viz.  riding  elders. 
"  Even  the  accommodation,"  observes  Mr.  Hetherington,^  **  by 
means  of  which  these  propositions  were  framed  and  carried,  was 

*  Baillie'B  Letters  and  Journals.  Edinb.   1841.  vol.  ii.  p.  175. 

*  Our  copy  is  in  3  vols.  4to,  and  contains  the  Papers  for  Accommodation 
and  on  other  points. 

3  See  Papers  of  Accommodation,  p.  5.  Lond.  1648. 

-»  This  was  proved  by  Rom.  12 :  7,  8,  and  1  Cor.  12 :  28.     See  Hether- 
ington's  Hist.,  p.  169,  Eng.  ed, 
5  Do.     do. 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  99 

somewhat  of  a  perilous  experiment;  for  it  narrowly  missed  in- 
troducing the  unsound  principle  of  admitting  into  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  church  what  had  no  higher  authority  than  considera- 
tions of  expediency  and  prudence.  For  all  were  willing  to  have 
admitted  the  order  of  ruling  elders  on  these  grounds;  but  this 
was  decidedly  rejected,  especially  by  the  Scottish  divines,  and  by 
those  of  the  Puritans  or  English  Presbyterians,  who  fully  under- 
stood the  nature  of  the  controversy  so  long  waged  by  their  pre- 
decessors against  admitting  into  a  divine  institution  any  thing  of 
merely  human  invention." 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1644,  the  whole  question  of  ordina- 
tion was  fairly  stated  by  Dr.  Temple,  chairman  of  one  of  the 
committees,  in  the  following  series  of  interrogatory  propositions  : 
*'  1.  What  ordination  is?  2.  Whether  necessarily  to  be  con- 
tinued? 3.  Who  to  ordain?  4.  What  persons  to  be  ordain- 
ed, and  how  qualified?  5.  The  manner  how?"  To  these  were 
appended  the  following  answers  for  the  Assembly's  considera- 
tion :  1.  Ordination  is  the  solemn  setting  apart  of  a  person  to 
some  public  office  in  the  church.  2.  It  is  necessarily  to  be  con- 
tinued in  the  church.  3.  The  apostles  ordained,  the  evangel- 
ists did,  preaching  presbyters  did  ;  because  apostles  and  evangel- 
ists are  officers  extraordinary,  and  not  to  continue  in  the  church  ; 
and  since,  in  Scripture,  we  find  ordination  in  no  other  hands, 
we  humbly  conceive  that  the  preaching  presbyters  are  only  to 
ordain." 

These  propositions  gave  rise  to  a  long  and  learned  debate, 
which  is  published  in  a  quarto  volume,*  and  in  which  "the  Dis- 
senting Brethren,"  that  is,  the  Independents,  affirmed,  and  the 
Presbyterians  denied,  the  following  proposition  :'^  "  Where  there 
is  a  sufficient  presbytery,  all  and  sole  power  in  ordination  may 
be  assumed,  though  association  may  be  had  ;  but  there  may  be  a 
sufficient  presbytery  in  a  particular  congregation." 

"  The  discussion  of  this  question,"  says  Lightfoot,  "had  been 
managed  with  the  most  heat  and  confusion  of  any  thing  that  had 
happened   among  us;"   and  to  defeat  the  proposition  of  the  As- 

'  London.  1648. 

^  See  Grand  Debate,  vol.  i.  p.  191,  &.c. 


100  VIEWS    OF    THE     REFORM  KRS 

sembly,  namely,  "  That  no  single  congregation,  which  may  con- 
veniently join  together  in  an  association,  may  assume  unto  itself  all 
and  sole  power  of  ordination,"  they  mustered  all  their  adherents; 
and  when,  therefore,  it  is  now  alleged  by  any  that  the  power  of 
ordination  rests  in  the  eldership  of  a  fart[cular  congrega- 
tion, and  that  ruling  elders  who  are  not  ministers  rnaT/  ordain, 
we  can  be  at  no  loss  to  perceive  how  perfectly  they  coincide 
with  the  Independents,  and  how  openly  they  oppose  the  deliver- 
ance given  by  this  Assembly,  and  by  the  universal  testimony 
and  practice  of  Presbyterian  churches  every  where. 

The  urgency  with  which  the  Assembly  presents  their  views 
on  this  point  in  their  published  "  Form  of  Government,  "which  is 
still  in  force  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  in  all  affiliated 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Scotland,  Ireland, 
England,  and  America,  is  very  remarkable.  We  have  before 
us  an  original  edition,  printed  in  London.  Under  the  head 
**  Of  Ordination  of  Ministers,"  it  is  said,  "  Every  minister  of 
the  word  is  to  be  ordained  by  imposition  of  hands,  and  prayer, 
with  fasting,  by  those  preaching  presbyters  to  whom  it  doth 
belong.     1  Tim.  5  :  22,  Acts  14  :  23,  and  13  :  3." 

Again,  under  the  head,  ''  Touching  the  power  of  Ordina- 
tion," it  is  said,  "  Ordination  is  the  act  of  a  presbytery.  1  Tim. 
4  :  14."  The  power  of  ordering  the  whole  work  of  ordination  is 
in  the  whole  presbytery,  which,  when  it  is  over  more  congrega- 
tions than  one,  whether  those  congregations  be  fixed  or  not  fixed, 
in  regard  of  officers  or  members,  it  is  indifferent  as  to  the  point  of 
ordination,    1  Tim.  4:  14. 

"  The  preaching  presbyters,  orderly  associated,  either  in  cities 
or  neighboring  villages,  are  those  to  whom  the  imposition  of 
hands  doth  appertain  for  those  congregations  within  their  bounds 
respectively." 

Again,  under  the  head  of  *'  The  Doctrinal  part  of  Ordina- 
tion of  Ministers,"  (§  4,)  it  is  declared,  "Every  minister  of  the 
word  is  to  be  ordained  by  imposition  of  hands,  and  prayer, 
with  fasting,  by  those  preaching  presbyters  to  whom  it  doth  be- 
long.    1  Tim.  5  :  22,  Acts  14  :  23,  &  13  :  3." 

And  in  §  10,  "  Preaching  presbyters,  orderly  associated 
in  cities  or  neighborinor  villages,    are    those   to   whom   the  im- 


ON    THE     ELDERSHIP.  101 

position  of  hands  doth  appertain,  for  those  congregations  within 
their  bounils  respectively.     1  Tim.  4  :  17." 

Again,  in  "The  Directory  for  Ordination  of  Ministers,"  after 
describing  the  order  of  service,  it  is  added,  (§  7,)  "  Which  be- 
ing mutually  promised  by  the  people,  the  presbytery,  or  the 
ministers  sent  from  them  for  ordination,  shall  solemnly  set  him 
apart  to  the  office  and  work  of  the  ministry,  by  laying  their 
hands  on  him,  which  is  to  be  accompanied  with  a  short  prayer 
or  blessing,  to  this  effect." 

Nay,  so  scrupulous  were  they  on  this  point,  that  in  the  rules 
they  drew  up  to  meet  the  emergency  of  the  times,  and  the  de- 
mand for  a  speedy  way  of  ordination,  they  require  that  no  one 
shall  be  ordained  but  **  by  some,  who  being  set  apart  themselves 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  have  power  to  join  in  the  setting 
apart  of  others,  who  are  found  fit  and  worthy." 

Similar  and  as  clear  was  the  judgment  of  Calvin.'  **  The 
imposition  of  hands  in  the  ordination  of  ministers  is  confined  to 
pastors  alone."  With  these  views  concurs  the  explicit  teach- 
ing of  the  Reformed  churches  of  France,  as  appears  from  their 
governments  and  discipline. 

On  this  point  the  learned  antiquary,  already  quoted,  says, 
"  I  am  not  aware  of  any  Presbyterian  body  whose  ruling  elders 
are^  or  ever  were,  in  the  habit  of  imposing  hands  in  the  ordina- 
tion of  ministers.  The  subject,  I  understand,  has  been  agitated 
in  the  Presbyterian  Churches  of  England  and  Ireland  ;  and  Mr. 
Lorimer,  of  Glasgow,  stated,  in  his  late  publication  on  the  Elder- 
ship, that  it  is  contemplated  in  the  Irish  Church,  to  set  elders 
apart  to  their  office  in  this  way.  But  I  do  not  recollect  of  ever 
hearing  it  mooted,  in  any  quarter,  to  permit  ruling  elders  to  im.- 
pose  hands  on  ministers.  The  raising  of  such  a  question  may 
be  viewed  in  one  respect  as  indicating  the  revival  of  a  strong 
Presbyterian  spirit,  though  somewhat  in  the  Puseyite  direction; 
while,  in  another  respect,  it  appears  to  me  inconsistent  with 
Presbyterianism,  and  verging  towards  Independency." 

Baxter  offisrs  five  reasons  why  ruling  elders  should  not  or- 
dain, and  why  preachers  or  pastors  alone  should  exercise  this 

'  See  Instit.  lib.  iv.  c.  iii.  §  16. 


102  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS 

function.^  Mr.  Lazarus  Seaman,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly,  in  his  "  Vindication,"  says,'^  "  Of  what 
consequence  it  is  that  ministers  should  keep  up  a  peculiar  in- 
terest of  acting  in  the  name  of,  and  instead  of  Christ,  by  some- 
thing peculiar  to  themselves." 

He  quotes  Zanchius  as  saying,^  "  It  matters  not  whether 
hands  be  laid  on  by  all  the  ministers  who  are  present,  or  by  one 
in  the  name  of  the  rest." 

He  also  quotes  the  Leyden  professors  as  saying,  '*  Though 
the  power  of  ordaining  or  confirming  pastors  (say  they)  belongs 
to  the  whole  presbytery;  yet  of  old  the  presbytery  did  execute 
that  in  the  rite  of  laying  on  of  hands,  not  so  much  by  ruling 
elders  as  by  pastors,  who  did  especially  attend  on  prophecy  or 
explication  of  the  Scripture,  and  application  of  it  to  the  use  of 
the  faithful,  unde  prophctia  cum  manum  impositione  perquam  olim 
Jiebat  ordinatio  pastorum,  ah  apostolo  conjungitur.  1  Tim.  4:  14. 
By  this  it  appears  they  have  a  singular  opinion  of  the  word 
prophecy,  not  of  the  word  presbytery ;  for  they  plainly  suppose 
the  presbytery  consisted  of  two  sorts  of  elders,  and  yet  that 
PREACHING  ELDERS  ONLY  LAID  ON  HANDS.  And  well  they  might 
suppose  that,  (as  doth  your  author  so  often  cited,  p.  171,)  because 
much  of  prayer  and  teaching  is  to  accompany  the  act  of  im- 
position, before  and  after." 

It  will  also  be  observed  that  the  institution  of  ruling  elders 
was  opposed  not  only  by  the  Independents,  but  by  Dr.  Temple, 
Dr.  Smith,  Mr.  Gataker,  Mr.  Vines,  Mr.  Price,  Mr.  Hall,  Mr. 
Lightfoot,  Mr.  Coleman,  Mr.  Palmer,  and  several  others,  who 
were  not  Independents.^  Baxter  affirms  that  '*  the  greater  part 
if  not  three  to  one"  of  the  English  ministers  denied  the  divine 
institution  of  this  office,  among  whom  he  was  himself  a  very  bold 
and  open  champion.^  The  Reformed  churches  of  Hungary  and 
Transylvania,  while  they  regarded  ruling  elders  as  allowable,  did 


'  Disputations  on  Ch.  Gov't.  Lond.  1659.  p.  265-267. 
2  Lond.  1647.  4to.  p.  67.  »  Ibid.  p.  85. 

*  Hetherington,  p.  168.     Dr.  Alexander's  Hist,  of,  pp.  103,  217,  259. 
5  See  Disput.  on  Ch.  Gov't ;  Pref.  p.  4,  and  265-267  ;   and  Works,  vol. 
i.  p.  94. 


ON   THE    ELDERSHIP.  103 

not  introduce  them  into  their  own  polity.'  The  French  churches 
decided  at  the  Synod  of  Charenton,  in  1645,-  "  We  agree  the 
office  of  deacon  is  of  divine  appointment,  and  that  it  belongs  to 
their  office  to  receive,  lay  out,  and  distribute  the  church's  stock 
to  its  proper  use,  by  the  direction  of  the  pastor,  and  the 
brethren,  if  need  be.  And  whereas  divers  are  of  opinion  that 
there  is  also  the  office  of  ruling  elders,  who  labor  not  in  word 
and  doctrine,  and  others  think  otherwise,  we  agree  that  this  dif- 
ference make  no  breach  among  us." 

The  Remonstrants^  acknowledge  only  "  bishops  and  eld- 
ers," who,  "by  preaching  the  gospel,  by  teaching  wholesome  or 
saving  truth,  by  confuting  errors  contrary  thereunto  ;  also  by  ex- 
horting, comforting,  reproving,  correcting,  ruling,  and  lastly,  by 
going  before  others,  by  their  example,  &c.,  might  preserve  or  keep 
together  the  churches  already  planted,  and  by  a  continual  suc- 
cession, to  their  utmost  power,  might  propagate  the  same.  And 
they  ordained  deacons,  that  after  they  had  been  first  proved  or 
tried,  they  might  diligently  employ  themselves,  in  gathering  and 
distributing  alms,  and  in  pious  and  tender  care-taking  of  the 
poor  in  the  said  congregations." 

From  this  review  of  the  sentiments  of  the  Reformed  churches, 
it  would  appear  that  they  universally  admitted  the  right  of  the 
Christian  laity  to  a  participation  in  the  government  of  the  church, 
to  elect  their  own  ministers  and  officers,  and  to  appoint  rulers 
who  might  act  as  their  representatives  in  carrying  out  the  disci- 
pline and  government  of  Christ's  church.  This  was  the  case 
not  only  in  the  Presbyterian  churches,  but  also  in  the  Anglican 
church,  which  alone  retained  the  prelatical  form.  The  clear  and 
full  opinions  of  Dr.  Whitaker,  Archbishop  Whitgift,  Archbishop 
Cranmer,  Dean  Nowell  in  his  authorized  catechism,  the  ap- 
proval given  by  Edward  VI.  and  his  clergy  to  the  order  of  the 
French  church  formed  in  London  by  John  A-Lasco,  and  also 
of  Thorndike  and  Dr.   John  Edwards,  have  been  given  in  their 


*  Voetius,  Polit.  Eccl.  torn.  iii.  p.  459. 

Quick's  SjTidicon,  vol.  i.  p.  229,  and  vol.  ii.  p.  472. 
3  Confession  or  Declaration  of  ;  Lond   1676,  pp.  225,  226. 


104  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS 

own  words  by  Dr.  Miller  and  others.^  And  the  reason  why  an 
office  so  approved  by  the  English  reformers  and  divines,  was  not 
adopted  in  its  practice,  is  given  by  Bishop  Burnet.  He  informs 
us  that  many  learned  and  pious  divines,  in  the  beginning  of 
Q,ueen  Elizabeth's  reign,  had  observed  the  new  models  set  up  in 
Geneva  and  other  places,  for  the  censuring  of  scandalous  persons, 
by  mixed  judicatories  of  ministers  and  laity  ;  and  these,  reflecting 
on  the  great  looseness  of  life  which  had  been  universally  com- 
plained of  in  King  Edward's  time,  thought  such  a  platform  might 
be  an  effectual  way  for  keeping  out  a  return  of  the  like  disorders. 
But  certain  wise  politicians  of  that  age  demonstrated  to  the 
Queen  that  these  models  would  certainly  bring  with  them  a  great 
abatement  of  her  prerogative;  since,  if  the  concerns  of  religion 
came  into  popular  hands,  there  would  be  a  power  set  up  distinct 
from  hers,  over  which  she  could  have  no  authority. "^  And  that 
this  opinion  still  prevails  in  the  English  church  we  might  prove 
from  many  sources.  We  quote,  however,  the  opinion  of  Arch- 
bishop Whately.^ 

It  may  be  needful  to  add,  that  if  in  a  church  thus  constituted, 
or  in  any  other,  the  laity  are  admitted  to  a  share  in  the  govern- 
ment of  it,  and  to  ecclesiastical  offices,  this  would  be,  not  only 
allowable,  but  wise  and  right.  That  laymen — that  is,  those 
who  hold  no  spiritual  office — should  take  part  in  legislating 
for  the  church,  and  should  hold  ecclesiastical  offices,  as  in  the 
Scotch  kirk,  and  in  the  American  Episcopalian  church,  (always 
supposing,  however,  that  they  are  members  of  the  church  ;  not 
as  in  this  country,  belonging  to  other  communions,)  is  far  better 
than  that  the  whole  government  should  be   in  the  hands  of  men 


*  See  on  the  Eldership,  ch.  iii.  p.  42.  See  Eng.  ed.  eh.  vi.  p.  105  ;  do.  ch. 
vii.  pp.  128, 133.  See  Jameson's  Cyprianus  Isotinus,  ch.  vi.  p.  505,  &c.  See, 
also,  Saravia  on  the  Priesthood. 

^  Burnet's  Hist,  of  the  Reformation,  preface  to  the  second  volume  of  Nare's 
edition,  pp.  24,  25. 

^  See  Kingdom  of  Christ,  p.  285,  Eng.  ed.  Dr.  Hinds'  opinion  in  his  Hist, 
of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  Christianily,  has  been  already  given.  See,  also, 
Christianity  Independent  of  the  Civil  Gov't,  p.  105.  Spiritual  Despotism,  pp. 
200,  205,  208,  210,  156,  199.  See  Eng.  ed.  Warburton's  AUiance  of  Church 
and  State,  p.  197.     Mem.  of  Prot.  Ep.  Ch.  p.  79. 


ON    THE    ELDEKSUIP. 


105 


of  one  profession,  the  clerical.  That  this  has  nothing  of  an 
Erastian  character,  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  mention,  but 
that  I  have  seen  the  observation — in  itself  perfectly  true — made 
in  siich  a  manner  as  to  imply  what  is  not  true  ;  i.  e.,  so  as  to  im- 
ply that  some  persons  do,  or  may,  maintain  that  there  is  some- 
thing of  Erastianism  in  such  an  arrangement.  But  who  ever 
heard  of  any  such  charge  being  brought?  Who,  for  instance, 
ever  taxed  the  Scotch  kirk,  or  the  American  Episcopalian,  with 
being  Erastian,  on  account  of  their  having  lay-elders?  Erastian- 
ism has  always  been  considered  as  consisting  in  making  the  State, 
as  such — the  civil  magistrate  by  virtue  of  his  office — prescribe  to 
the  people  what  they  shall  believe,  and  how  worship  God. 

The  Episcopal  church  in  this  country  at  the  time  of  its  con- 
stitution gave  very  emphatic  proof  of  its  adherence  to  this  fea- 
ture of  primitive  and  reformed  Presbyterian  discipline,  by 
adopting,  in  some  limited  measure,  the  sentiments  of  its  founder, 
Bishop  White,  and  not  those  of  Bishop  Seabury,  its  first  corrup- 
ter, and  the  first  in  the  line  of  succession  in  the  order  of  Puseyite 
high-churchmen.  The  introduction  of  the  laity  into  all  their 
councils.  Bishop  White  urged  on  the  following  ground  :'  From 
what  he  has  read  of  primitive  usage,  he  thinks  it  evident  that  in 
very  early  times,  when  every  church,  that  is,  the  Christian  peo- 
ple in  every  city  and  convenient  district  round  it,  was  an  eccle- 
siastical commonwealiii,  with  all  the  necessary  powers  of  self-gov- 
ernment, the  body  of  the  people  had  a  considerable  share  in  its 
determinations.  The  same  sanction  which  the  people  gave  ori- 
ginally in  a  body,  they  might  lawfully  give  by  representation. 
In  reference  to  very  ancient  practice,  it  would  be  an  omission  not 
to  take  notice  of  the  council  of  Jerusalem,  mentioned  in  the  15th 
chapter  of  the  Acts.  That  the  people  were  concerned  in  the 
transactions  of  that  body,  is  granted  generally  by  Episcopalian 
divines.  Something  has  been  said,  indeed,  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  authoritative  act  of  the  apostles,  and  the  concurring 
act  of  the  lay  brethren  ;  and  Archbishop  Potter,  in  support  of  this 
distinction,  corrects  the  common  translation,  on  the  authority  of 

*  Memoirs  of  the  Prot.  Ep.  Ch.  pp.  76,  77.  On  what  grounds  Bishop  Sea- 
bury  opposed  it  may  be  seen  at  p.  344,  &c.,  of  do. 

G* 


106  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMEKS 

some  ancient  manuscripts,  reading  (Acts  15  :  23)  **  elders  breth- 
ren," a  similar  expression,  he  thinks,  to  "  men  brethren,"  in 
chapter  2  :  29,  where  the  and  is  evidently  an  interpolation,  to 
suit  the  idiom  of  the  English  language.  It  does  not  appear,  that 
our  best  commentators,  either  before  or  since  the  time  of  Arch- 
bishop Potter,  have  followed  his  reading.  Mills  prefers,  and 
Griesbach  rejects  it.  The  passage,  even  with  the  corrections, 
amounts  to  what  is  pleaded  for — the  obtaining  of  the  consent  of 
the  laity — which  must  have  accompanied  the  decree  of  Jerusa- 
lem, nothing  less  being  included  in  the  term  "  multitude,"  who 
are  said  to  have  "kept  silence;"  and  in  that  of  "the  whole 
church,"  of  whom,  as  well  as  of  the  apostles  and  elders,  it  is  said, 
that  "  it  pleased"  them  to  institute  the  recorded  mission.  On  no 
other  principle  than  that  here  affirmed,  can  there  be  accounted 
for  many  particulars  introduced  in  the  apostolic  epistles.  The 
matters  referred  to  are  subjects,  which,  on  the  contrary  suppo- 
sition, were  exclusively  within  the  province  of  the  clergy,  and 
not  to  be  acted  on  by  the  churches,  to  whom  the  epistles  are  re- 
spectively addressed."  Bishop  White's  views  are  fully  develop- 
ed in  his  "  Case  of  the  Episcopal  Churches  considered,"  and  to 
which  in  the  above  work  and  to  the  very  end  of  life  he  express- 
ed his  unshaken  adherence.^  In  this  work  he  gives  the  outline 
of  a  form  of  government,  evidently  suggested  by  the  form  and 
order  of  our  Presbyterian  courts  with  their  clerical  and  lay  dele- 
gates.2  So  that  whatever  popular  representation  is  now  enjoyed  by 
this  church,  is  literally  and  truly  adopted  from  the  Presbyterian 
church,  which  had  been  established  long  before  it  in  this  coun- 
try.^ By  the  veto,  however,  given  to  the  bishop,  and  the  vote  by 
orders,  which  enables  a  majority  of  the  clergy  to  outvote  all  the 
laity — the  popular  representation  of  the  Episcopal  church  is  but 
in  name,  and  amounts  to  nothing  in  reality. 

The  fact  is  as  plainly  authenticated  that  all  the  Puritans  from 
Cartwright  downwards,  and  all  the  Independents  until  a  recent 

»  See  Lectures  on  the  Apost.  Succ.  pp.  411,  and  412,  and  Mem.  of  Prot  Ep 
Ch.  p.  81. 

*  See  ch.  ii.  and  quotations  given  in  the  above. 
3  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  538,  &c. 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  W7 

date,  agreed  upon  the  same  general  principles,  and  had  ruling 
elders  in  their  churches/ 


'  See  Dr.  Miller,  as  above,  where  their  Platforms  and  Confessions  and 
standard  writers  are  all  quoted. 

A  large  proportion,  at  least,  of  the  first  settlers  of  New  England  regarded 
the  office  of  Ruling  Elders  as  of  Divine  institution,  and  appealed  to  1  Cor.  12  : 
28,  and  1  Tim.  5  :  17,  as  warranting  this  persuasion.  The  title  of  these  offi- 
cers is  descriptive  of  their  rank  and  v»^ork  in  the  church.  They  were  Elders, 
in  common  with  the  Pastor  and  Teacher  :  and  as  it  was  their  duty  to  assist 
the  teaching  officers  or  officer  in  ruling,  or  conducting  the  spiritual  affairs  of 
the  church,  (in  admitting,  for  instance,  or  excluding  members,  inspecting  their 
lives  and  conversations,  preventing  or  healing  offences,  visiting  the  sick,  and 
administering  occasionally  a  word  of  admonition  or  exhortation  to  the  congre- 
gation,) they  obtained  the  name  of  Ruling  Elders.  Whereas,  Pastors  and 
Teachers,  by  way  of  distinction,  were  sometimes  called  Teaching  Elders,  be- 
cause it  was  eminently  their  duty  to  teach,  or  minister  the  word. 

Ruling  Elders  were  anciently  ordained,  (see  Notes,  Cambridge  Ch.)  and 
were  sometimes  addressed  by  the  appellation  of  Reverend.  In  a  letter,  for  in- 
stance, of  Rev.  Sol.  Stoddard,  communicating  his  acceptance  of  the  call  of  the 
church  at  Northampton  to  be  their  pastor,  the  Ruling  Elder,  to  whom  it  was 
addressed,  was  styled,  the  "  Rev.  John  Strong,"  &c.  The  place  of  the  RuUng 
Elders  in  the  congregation  was  an  elevated  seat,  between  the  Deacon's  seat  and 
the  pulpit.  They  seem  to  have  been  more  generally  employed,  and  longer  re- 
tained in  the  churches  of  New  England,  than  teachers  were,  as  distinct  from 
Pastors.  The  Old  South  Church,  Boston,  for  example,  had  never  a  Teacher, 
in  the  distinctive  sense  of  the  term  ;  but  at  its  foundation  had  its  Ruling  Elder, 
Mr.  Rainsford,  ordained  at  the  same  time  with  its  first  Pastor,  Mr.  Thacher. 
In  the  First  Church,  Boston,  Ruling  Elders  were  continued  at  least  to  the  death 
of  Elder  Copp,  in  1713  ;  in  York,  Me.,  till  the  death  of  Elder  Sewall,  in  1769, 
and  perhaps  longer  ;  in  First  Church,  Ipswich,  till  after  1727  ;  and  in  the 
Second  Church  of  that  town,  Chebacco  Parish,  now  Essex,  till  the  death  of 
Elder  Crafts,  in  1790.  In  Salem,  the  office  was  sustained  for  a  great  length  of 
time  ;  and  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  yet  become  extinct.  In  the  First  Church 
in  that  city,  which  had  Ruling  Elders  at  its  foundation,  in  1629,  choice  was 
made  of  one  to  fill  that  office  in  1782.  In  the  Third  Church,  there  was  an 
election  to  the  same  office,  then  recently  vacated  by  death  in  1783.  And  in 
the  North  Church,  which  had  had  Ruling  Elders  from  its  beginning,  the  late 
venerable  Dr.  Holyoke  was  appointed  one  in  1783,  and  Hon.  Jacob  Ashton  in 
1826. 

In  the  county  of  Middlesex,  eight  churches  appear  to  have  had  Ruling  El- 
ders ;  and  of  these  eight,  two  afterwards  removed  beyond  it.  In  the  meeting- 
house, in  South  Reading,  built  about  1744,  there  was  an  Elder's  seat,  till  re- 
moved in  1837  ;  but  it  is  not  known  to  have  been  ever  occupied  by  the  appro- 


l^  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS 

While,  however,  all  the  Reformed  churches  did  thus  agree  in 
justifying  the  concurrence  of  the  people  in  the  government  of 
the  church,  they  appear  evidently  to  have  abstained  from  any 
such  title  as  would  identify  their  representatives  even  in  name, 

priate  officer.  In  August,  1630,  the  church  of  Charlestown,now  First  Church, 
Boston,  chose  Mr.  Increase  Nowell  as  its  Ruling  Elder,  but  he  resigned  in  1632, 
after  he  had  been  elected  Secretary  of  the  Colony — it  being  decided  incompati- 
ble to  hold  both  offices  at  the  same  time.  In  the  present  First  Church,  Charles- 
town,  there  was,  according  to  Johnson,  one  Ruling  Elder  at  the  time  he  wrote, 
1651.  This  was  doubtless  Elder  Green,  who  kept  the  Church  Records  till  his 
death,  about  1658  ;  and  he  seems  to  have  had  no  successor  in  office.  Elder 
Brown  of  Watertown  Church,  gathered  in  1630  ;  and  Elder  Goodwin  of  the 
Church  gathered  at  Cambridge,  1633,  and  removed  to  Hartford,  Ct.,  1636, 
were  both  prominent  characters  in  some  of  the  theological  questions  and  con- 
troversies of  their  day. 

The  present  First  Church,  Cambridge,  gathered  in  1636,  chose  Ruling  El- 
ders at  the  beginning,  and  retained  them  above  sixty  years.  The  Ruling  El- 
der of  First  Church,  Concord,  gathered  in  1636,  is  noted  for  the  "  unhappy  dis- 
cord "  which  he  occasioned  in  that  church,  and  the  trouble  which  he  caused  the 
teacher,  Mr.  Bulkeley,  which  maybe  the  reason  why,  after  the  Elder's  "  abdica- 
tion," no  successor  appears  to  have  been  appointed.  In  First  Church,  Newton, 
Thomas  Wiswall,  (styled  in  Cambridge  Town  Records,  Rev.  Thomas  Wis- 
wall.)  was  ordained  a  Ruling  Elder  in  1664,  at  the  ordination  of  its  first  pas- 
tor. And  finally,  in  the  church  at  Hopkinson,  gathered  in  1724,  two  Ruling 
Elders  were  ordained  in  1732.  But  in  this  church,  it  is  believed,  and  in  all  the 
above  churches  in  this  county,  the  office  has  long  been  extinct.  The  following 
is  a  notice  of  the  death  of  a  Ruling  Elder,  who  was  probably  the  last  to  sustain 
the  office  in  the  church  of  Cambridge.  "  Lord's  day,  January  14,  1699-1700. 
Elder  Jonas  Clarke  of  Cambridge  dies  ;  a  good  man  in  a  good  old  age,  and  one 
of  my  first  and  best  Cambridge  friends.  He  quickly  follows  the  great  patron  of 
Ruling  Elders,  Tho.  Danforth,  Esq. 

Proposals  were  made  in  1727,  but  without  success,  to  revive  the  office  of 

Ruling  Elders  in  the  Old  South  Church,  Boston.     "  1727,  March  31, 

Propos'd  to  the  Chh.  to  take  it  into  yr  Consideration  whether  the  Scripture  did 
not  direct  to  the  choice  of  Ruling  Elders — nam'd  yt  text,  1  Tim.  v.  17.  Ld. 
shew  us  yy  mind  and  will  in  ys  matter."  A  like  attempt  for  the  same  purpose 
was  made  shortly  after  in  the  New  [kick  Church,  now  Second  Church,  Boston. 
'•  In  1735,  after  much  debate,  it  was  determined  to  have  two  Ruling  EMers  in 
the  church  ;  an  office  which  has  become  almost  obsolete,  and  which  after  this 
attempt  to  revive  it,  sunk  for  ever."  .  .  "  Thi.'^  maUer  of  the  Ruling  Eldei.s 
was  debated  at  numerous  church  meeting.s,  from  March  17,  1735  to  Novem- 
ber 11,  1737  ;  at  which  time  only  one  person  (Deacon  James  Halsy)  had  been 
found  to  accept  the  office,  and  the  church  at  last  voted  not  to  choose  another.' 
— Am.  Quarterly  Register. 


ON    THE    ELDERSHIP.  109 

with  the  ministers  of  tlie  word.  Some  distinctive  appellation  was 
therefore  chosen,  such  as  "  assistants,"  which  was  the  terra  in 
use  among  the  English  Puritans  as  late  as  the  year  1606.^  And 
as  the  titles  of  bishop,  pastor,  and  minister,  came  to  be  used  as 
the  official  and  regular  names  for  preachers  of  the  gospel,  the 
word  elder,  as  the  translation  of  the  Latin  word  senior,  was  ap. 
propriated  to  the  representative  of  the  people.  But  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  justify  the  office  from  Scripture,  and  as  the  passage 
in  1  Tim,  5  :  17,  appeared,  when  translated  by  the  term  elders 
instead  of^  presbi/ters,  to  designate  two  kinds  of  elders,  the  term 
ruling  elder  came  to  be  very  generally  used  as  an  appropriate 
title  for  these  assistants  or  seniors.  Nor  do  we  now  object  to 
the  name,  inasmuch  as  both  the  word  elder  and  the  word  ruling 
are  now  understood  only  in  their  adopted  and  conventional 
meaning,  and  not  in  their  Scriptural  and  derivative  sense.  The 
term  elder  is  grave  and  honorable,  and  well  suited  to  express 
the  character  and  estimation  in  which  its  possessor  should  be 
held  ;  while  the  epithet  ruling  as  happily  denotes  the  duty  to 
which  he  is  appointed.  But  when  we  refer  to  the  passage  on 
lohicJi  the  name  is  founded,  and  by  which  it  is  sustained,  nothing 
could  be  more  unfortunate  than  such  an  appropriation  of  its 
terms.  For  as  we  have  seen,  the  one  word  ngsa^visgoi,  i.  e.  pres- 
byters, is  never  used  in  the  New  Testament,  or  in  the  fathers, 
for  any  other  officer  than  the  one  who  might  preach  and  admin- 
ister sacraments  ;  while  the  other  term  TigoEatbig  (proestos),  i.  e. 
presiding,  alludes  to  an  official  duty  in  the  public  congregation, 
to  which  the  ruling  elder  has  never  been  deemed  competent. 
And  it  is  therefore  our  opinion  that  had  this  passage  been  ren- 
dered  as  it  ought  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of  Scrip- 

^  About  the  year  1606,  Mr.  Bradshaw  published  a  small  treatise,  entitled, 
"  English  Puritanism,  containing  the  main  opinions  of  the  rigidest  sort  of  those 
that  went  by  that  name  in  the  realm  of  England/'  which  Dr.  Ames  translated 
into  Latin  for  the  benefit  of  foreigners.  As  to  government,  this  treatise  soys, 
'•  They  hold  that  by  God's  ordinance  the  congregation  should  choose  other  offi- 
cers as  ASSISTANTS  to  the  ministers  in  the  government  of  the  church,  who  are 
jointly,  with  the  ministers,  the  overseers  of  the  manners  and  conversation  of  all 
the  congregation,  and  that  these  are  to  be  chosen  out  of  the  gravest  and  most 
discreet  members,  who  are  also  of  some  note  in  the  world,  and  able,  if  possible, 
to  maintain  themselves."     Neal,\o\.  i.  p.  434. 


110  VIEWS    OF    THE    REFORMERS,    ETC. 

ture — ''  Let  the  presbyters  who  preside"  over  fixed  and  organ- 
ized churches,  and  minister  to  them  in  word  and  doctrine,  **  be 
counted  worthy  of  double  honor,  but  especially  those  presby- 
ters who  act  as  evangelists,"  in  carrying  that  "  word  and  doc- 
trine" into  frentier  and  destitute  regions, — the  use  of  the  title 
"  ruling  elder  "  in  its  present  sense,  never  would  have  been  sug- 
gested, and  all  the  confusion  and  obscurity  which  have  been 
thrown  around  the  question  of  the  nature  and  duties  of  the  office 
for  ever  prevented. 


CHAPTER    V. 

On  the  permanency  of  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder. 

The  Parmasim,  or  lay  senate  in  the  synagogue,  whose  au- 
thority and  office  is,  in  some  respects,  similar  to  that  of  the 
session,  hold  their  office  but  for  one  year,  being  annually  chosen 
by  the  free  voice  of  the  people. '  The  sidesmen  and  other  lay 
representatives  of  the  people  in  the  ancient  British  churches, 
were  also,  as  we  have  seen,  temporary  officers.  Such  also  were 
they  who  were  anciently  admitted  to  sit  in  councils.  And  when 
the  reformers  revived  and  reestablished  the  order  of  the  church 
courts,  presbyteries,  synods,  and  assemblies,  with  lay  representa- 
tives as  component  members  of  them  all,  these  officers  were,  in 
all  cases,  of  a  temporary  character,  and  reelected  from  year  to 
year.  Such  was  the  case  in  Geneva,^  and  such  continues  to  be 
the  case  in  that  church  until  the  present  time.^  Such  was  the 
case  also  in  Scotland  during  the  continuance  of  the  Book  of 
Common  Order,  and  the  First  Book  of  Discipline.  The  same  plan 
was  adopted  by  all  the  Reformed  churches  on  the  continent;  in 
some  cases  the  election  of  elders  being  annual,  and  in  others  for 
a  longer  period.* 

This  plan,  however,  has  been  disapproved  by  our  own 
church,  which  has  stamped  the  same  perpetuity  and  sacredness 

'  Bernard's  Synagogue,  p.  38. 
^  The  Laws  and  Statutes  of  Geneva,  p.  6. 
^  Heugh's  Religion  in  Geneva  and  Belgium,  pp.  10,  11. 
4  Dr.  Miller  on  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder,  1844,  p.  118.     De  Moor's  Com- 
ment. Perpet.  torn.  vi.  p.  330,  and  Spanheim,  ibid. 


112  ON    'J'lIE    PERMANENCY    OF    THE 

upon  the  office  of  ruling  elder  which  it  attaches  to  the  ministry. 
It  pronounces  it  to  be  ''  perpetual,  and  not  to  be  laid  aside  at  pleas- 
ure," and  that  "no person  can  be  divested  of  it  but  by  deposi- 
tion." Now  against  this  arrangement  we  contend,  and  to  this 
language  also  we  object,  and  the  order  here  laid  down  we  believe 
to  be  inexpedient,  and  unscriptural  in  its  character  and  injurious 
in  its  results. 

This  order  is  unscriptural.  There  is  no  warrant,  either  in 
Scripture  precept,  apostolic  practice,  or  primitive  usage,  for  such 
an  arrangement.  The  brethren  who  sat  in  the  council  of 
Jerusalem,  **  the  helps  and  the  governments,"  and  the  lay-of- 
ficers of  the  early  churches,  were,  as  far  as  we  can  gather  from 
what  is  said  in  Scripture,  and  from  the  policy  of  the  synagogue, 
temporary.  Nor  have  we  seen  any  thing  in  the  history  of  the 
church  to  countenance  the  opposite  opinion.  A  perpetual  elder- 
ship is  also  contrary  to  the  very  principle  upon  which  the  Re- 
formers based  its  authority,  namely,  the  truth  that  (as  Luther 
words  it)  "all  Christians  belong  to  the  spiritual  state,"  and 
have  an  inherent  and  unalienable  right  to  cooperate  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  church,  and  to  hold  ecclesiastical  offices.  The 
Christian  laity,  therefore,  as  God's  "  clergy,''  are  to  exercise 
their  liberty,  under  a  sense  of  responsibility  to  Christ,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  of  his  word,  in  choosing  their  own 
pastors,  and  in  electing  and  in  appointing  their  own  representa- 
tives. The  church  is  a  spiritual  commonwealth,  and  all  its  offi- 
cers, while  their  office,  dignity,  and  rights  are  sacred  by  divine 
appointment,  are  chosen  by  the  church,  are  responsible  to  the 
church,  and  may,  and  ought  to  be  removable  from  office  by  the 
church,  acting  through  its  properly  constituted  organs.  Es- 
pecially and  preeminently  ought  this  to  be  the  case  with  "  ruling 
elders,"  which  are,  as  our  standards  teach,  ^'properly  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people,  chosen  by  them."  Now  by  attaching 
inviolability  and  permanency  to  the  office,  this  character  and  ob- 
ject of  the  office  is  practically  destroyed,  since  the  great  body  of 
any  church  may,  and  often  do  live  and  die  without  having  any 
opportunity  to  "  choose  representatives,"  and  this  too,  even 
while  they  may  feel  very  sensibly  that  they  are  misrepresented  by 
the  existing  elders,  and  that  the  government  and  discipline  of  the 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  113 

church  is  altogether  neglected  or  abused  by  them.  The  liberty 
and  birthright  of  the  Christian  people  are  thus  seriously  cur- 
tailed, and  their  rights  of  spiritual  citizenship  practically  abro- 
gated and  annulled.  The  republican  and  representative  charac- 
ter of  the  church  is  in  this  way  denied.  The  free,  open,  and 
popular  design  of  our  institutions,  is  also  exchanged  for  a  close 
corporation  which  cannot  be  changed,  and  which,  at  the  same 
time,  can  perpetuate  itself.  Christian  freemen,  therefore,  have  a 
right  from  time  to  time  to  express  their  opinion  in  a  Christian 
spirit,  and  under  the  direction  of  Christian  rules,  of  their  dele- 
gated representatives  ;  and  either  to  continue  or  to  displace  those 
who  may  have  been  found  inefficient  or  unworthy. 

But  it  may  be  said  that  these  objections  will  apply  equally  to 
the  ministers  who,  though  elected  by  the  people,  are  not  remova- 
ble by  them,  at  pleasure.  But  we  think  differently.  For,  prac- 
tically, the  people  can  remove  their  minister  and  secure  the 
services  of  one  under  whom  they  may  be  more  benefited.  And 
as  ministers  are  not  the  officers  of  any  one  church,  nor  limited  to 
any  one  territory,  they  can  still  continue  in  their  office ;  and 
while  objectionable  to  one  particular  church,  still  discharge  the 
functions  of  the  ministry  to  the  spiritual  benefit  of  others.  But 
the  ruling  elder  is  the  officer  only  of  that  church  by  which  he  has 
been  elected,  and  he  is  fixed  and  permanent  in  his  residence  and 
location.  And  therefore,  in  his  case  there  is  a  perfect  contrast 
to  the  condition  of  the  minister,  since  he  is  necessitated  to  re- 
tain his  office  when  no  longer  fit  for  it  or  acceptable  in  it,  and, 
since  the  people  are  required  to  regard  and  treat  as  an  elder  the 
man  who  has  no  longer  any  claims  on  account  of  any  duties  he 
can  render,  (or  it  may  be,  he  ever  has  rendered)  to  either  their 
respect  or  their  gratitude.  This  case,  therefore,  is  perfectly 
anomalous  and  unreasonable.' 

And  where,  we  again  ask,  does  Scripture  warrant  the  pre- 
latical  notion  that  there  is  an  inviolable  and  immutable  sacred- 
ness,   or  something,  attached  to  ''the  office''  of  a    ruling   elder 

^  In  the  Reformed  Churches  of  France,  (see  Form  of  Discipline,  Can.  xi.  in 
Quick's  Synodicon,  vol.  i.  p.  19.)  the  ministry  was  declared  to  be  for  life,  "  U7i- 
Icss  they  be  lawfully  discharged  upon  good  and  certain  conditions." 


114  ON    THE    PERMANENCY    OF    THE 

apart  from  the  officer  himself?'  What  is  the  nature  of  this  mys- 
terious abstraction  ?  Where  does  this  invisible  grace  reside  ? — 
and  when — where — and  how — is  it  imparted  ?  Where  does  Scrip- 
ture teach  us  that  a  man  may  be  incapable  of  holding  an  eccle- 
siastical office,  and  of  discharging  any  of  its  duties,  and  yet  that 
his  office  is  nevertheless  perpetual  and  cannot  be  laid  aside? 
Surely  we  may  search  Scripture  in  vain  for  any  such  quiddity 
as  this,  which  clothes  its  possessor  with  a  secret  charm  and  char- 
acter, like  our  civil  dignitaries  of  Colonel  ^nd  of  General^  which 
the  service  of  a  single  month  may  wreath  around  the  brows  of 
their  honorable  possessors  for  a  long  lifetime.  Oh  yes,  we  must 
go  elsewhere  among  the  misty  and  smoky  closets  of  mediaeval 
casuistry,  to  discover  the  true  original  source  of  this  wonderful 
grace ;  and  it  ill  becomes  those  who  scout  the  whole  assumption 
as  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision,  and  the  concerted  legend  of 
mt)nkish  mysticism,  to  authenticate  the  truth  of  the  dogma,  and 
practically  exhibit  to  the  world  such  inexcusable  inconsistency. 

Nor  is  this  arrangement  less  inexpedient  than  it  is  unscrip- 
tural.  No  man  "  can  be  divested  of  the  office  of  elder  but  by 
deposition,"  and  yet  "  he  may  become  through  age  or  infirmity 
incapable  of  discharging  the  duties  of  his  office,"  and  ''from 
any  other  cause  incapable  of  serving  the  church  to  edification  !" 
Can  such  an  arrangement  as  this  be  proper,  becoming,  edifying, 
or  desirable?  What  is  gained  ?  We  can  see  nothing  but  that 
indescribable  and  undiscernible  something  or  nothing  of  which 
we  have  spoken.  And  what  is  hazarded  and  lost?  Much,  every 
way.  The  dignity  and  high  character  of  the  office  is  lost ;  for 
this  consists  not  in  any  ecclesiastical  appointment,  but  in  the 
respect,  confidence,  and  affection  of  the  people.  And  how  can 
they  cherish  such  feelings  towards  those  in  whose  election  the 
great  majority  iiave  had  no  choice ;  over  whose  continuance  they 
have  none  of  them  any  power  or  check  or  control ;  and  whom 
they  have  not  even  the  privilege  of  requesting  from  time  to  time 
to  continue  to  render  to  them  their  duly  estimated  services? 
How  poor  is  the  encouragement,  and  how  cheerless  the  reflec- 

*  When  it  was  declared  that  ordination  to  ecclesiastical  office  "  imprimit 
characterem  indelibilem ,"  may  be  seen  in  Binius,  torn.  viii.  p.  425,  and  Mou- 
rius  De  Sacris  Eccl.  Ordinibus,  passim. 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  115 

tions  of  a  ruling  elder  who  has  no  evidence  of  the  free  and  hearty 
good  will  of  his  constituents,  compared  with  the  man  who  is 
urged  to  continue  in  his  office  from  time  to  time  by  the  approving 
votes  of  his  respected  brethren  !  The  minister  has  this  high,  in- 
spiriting, and  ennobling  feeling,  for  he  knows  that  by  the  con- 
tinued kindness  and  reciprocated  feelings  of  his  people,  he  is 
useful  and  honored  by  them,  and  esteemed  very  highly  in  love 
for  his  work's  sake ;  and  when  he  perceives  that  it  is  otherwise, 
he  can  seek  some  other  field,  where  God  may  open  to  him  a  wide 
and  effectual  door. 

By  our  present  arrangement,  the  motives  to  zeal  and  useful- 
ness in  the  work  of  the  eldership  are,  in  a  great  degree,  de- 
stroyed. The  elected  elder,  being  no  longer  directly  responsible 
to  the  people,  or  dependent  upon  them  for  continuance  in  office, 
is  led  by  all  the  evil  tendencies  of  our  corrupt  nature,  to  fold  his 
arms  in  indolence,  to  sit  down  and  take  his  ease  in  Zion,  and  to 
do  no  more  than  his  convenience  or  absolute  necessity  requires. 
We  appeal  to  the  state  of  our  church  sessions  every  where  for 
illustrations  of  this  melancholy  truth,  and  we  allege  the  very 
common  (though  thank  God  by  no  means  universal)  inefficiency 
and  inactivity  of  the  eldership,  and  their  unwillingness  to  enter 
upon  any  field  of  self-denying  Christian  effort,  as  lamentable  proof 
of  the  truth  of  our  position.  But  were  elders  elected  for  a  time, 
and  made  reeligible  to  office,  the  office  would  at  once  rise  in  its 
practical  interest  and  importance ;  the  minds  of  the  people 
would  be  more  frequently  directed  towards  it ;  and  the  minds  of 
the  elders  more  constantly  directed  towards  the  interests  of  the 
people,  and  thus  be  led,  under  the  impulse  of  every  high  and 
stimulating  principle,  to  be  steadfast  and  immovable,  and  always 
abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. 

By  the  present  arrangement  we  lose  also  the  power  of  recti- 
fying mistakes  in  judgment,  and  of  removing  from  the  office  of 
the  eldership  men  who  have  committed  no  crime  which  can 
be^clearly  proved  against  them,  or  even  charged  upon  them, 
and  who  may  be  in  the  judgment  of  charity  regarded  as 
pious,  and  yet  who  have  proved  themselves  unfit  for  the  ac- 
ceptable discharge  of  the  office  by  their  imprudence,  their 
inert  inefficiency,  their  want  of  gifts,  their  growing  coldness  and 


116  ON    THE    PERMANENCY    OF    THE 

formality,  their  neglect  of  the  Sabbath  and  week  day  services 
of  the  sanctuary,  or  from  any  other  cause.  As  ii  now  is,  such 
men,  and  often  too  with  the  greatest  tenacity,  hang  like  mill- 
stones about  the  neck  of  a  church;  form  prominent  stumbling 
blocks  in  the  way  of  sinners;  and  act  like  a  drag  upon  the 
wheels  of  the  church,  in  every  attempt  at  spiritual  and  benevolent 
enterprise. 

By  the  present  arrangement  also  we  lose  the  services  of  many 
of  the  very  best  and  most  capable  members  of  our  church,  who 
would,  under  an  opposite  arrangement,  be  found  ready  to  enter 
upon  the  office  of  the  eldership.  As  it  is,  they  are  so  engrossed 
with  necessary  engagements,  or  so  diffident  and  modest,  or  so 
affi-ighted  by  the  prospect  of  a  life  of  engagement,  and  by  the 
mysterious  awe  which  is  made  to  surround  the  very  character  of 
''the  office'' — or  so  reluctant  to  enter  mio  ?i permanent  associa- 
tion with  the  existing  members  of  the  session,  as  to  be  un- 
willing to  enter  upon  its  discharge  at  all.  The  consequence  is, 
that  in  some  cases  the  least  capable  are  the  most  certain  to  be 
inducted  to  this  office,  because  they  alone,  perhaps,  can  be  in- 
duced to  accept  of  the  office.  And  thus,  it  is  sometimes  seen, 
that  the  man  who  cannot  or  does  not  manage  properly  his  own 
business,  or  his  own  family,  and  who  is  as  unstable  as  water,  is 
set  up  to  manage  the  affairs  of  Christ's  household,  and  to  sit  as 
a  prince  upon  the  throne  of  spiritual  judgment.  But  were  the 
office  temporary,  say  biennial  or  triennial,  the  persons  we  have 
described  could  be  induced  to  make  trial  of  their  gifts  and  of 
their  fitness  for  the  work,  and  if  found  acceptable  and  useful,  be 
encouraged  to  continue  their  zealous  and  valuable  services,  and 
to  lend  their  name,  their  character,  and  their  example,  to  the 
moral  influence  and  power  of  the  session. 

Neither  can  it  be  said  that  the  corruptions  of  the  Genevan, 
French,  or  any  other  Reformed  churches,  have  resulted  from  the 
temporary  nature  of  this  office.  There  is  nothing  to  warrant 
such  an  inference,  any  more  than  the  inference  of  prelalists 
and  Romanists  from  the  same  f^icts,  against  our  doctrines  and 
order  generally.  No!  the  evil  in  these  churches  lay  in  allowing 
these  officers  to  be  appointed  by  the  State,  and  to  be  therefore 
men  of  whose  protestantism  and  genuine  piety  there  was  no  evi- 


OFFICE    OF    RULING    ELDER.  117 

dence  either  sought  or  given ; — and  from  excluding  them  alto- 
gether from  the  supreme  councils  of  the  church.  It  was  this 
Erastian  character  of  the  Reformed  churches — their  alliance 
with  the  State,  their  adaptation  to  the  civil  constitution,  their 
consequent  tendency  to  seek  for  worldly  honor,  respectability, 
and  favor  ;  their  neglect  to  establish  and  enforce  discipline  alto- 
gether, or  their  procrastination  until  its  effective  administration 
became  impossible,'  and  the  necessary  withholdment  and  gradual 
corruption  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel — these  were  the  true 
sources  of  this  lamentable  decay.  And  had  the  spiritual  quali- 
fications of  their  eldership  been  enforced,  and  their  election 
retained  in  the  hands  of  the  members  of  the  church ;  had  they 
been  admitted  upon  credible  evidence  of  their  piety,  and  the 
efficiency  of  church  discipline  been  sustained  ;  then,  and  in  that 
case,  we  think  the  temporary  character  of  the  office  would  have 
given  life,  and  zeal,  and  continued  energy  to  the  church. 

*  See  a  most  aifecting  and  learned  exhibition  of  this  truth  by  Comenius  in 
his  Exhortation  to  the  Churches  of  Bohemia,  and  to  the  Churches  of  England. 
London,  1661,  4to. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


Of  the  Ordination  of  Ruling  Elders  by  imposition  of  hands  ;  and  their  coopera- 
tion in  ordination. 


The  determination  of  both  these  questions  depends  in  a'great 
degree,  as  a  matter  of  right  and  propriety,  upon  the  questions  al- 
ready considered — and  as  the  office  of  the  eldership  has  been  in- 
variably regarded  as  temporary  in  ils  character  until  compara- 
tively recent  times,  and  still  is  so  in  the  largest  part  of  Reformed 
Christendom,  and  in  the  private  judgment  of  a  growing  number 
even  within  those  churches  which  have  made  it  permanent, — the 
inference  seems  plain  that  the  weight  of  opinion  is  against  the 
propriety  of  ordaining  them  by  imposition  of  hands.  The  fact 
therefore  is,  that  they  never  have  been  so  ordained  except  in  this 
country,  where  the  practice,  though  not  sanctioned  by  our  Stand- 
ards, has  been  introduced  by  Dr.  Miller,  in  accordance  with  his 
view  of  the  nature  and  origin  of  the  office.  The  same  writer  con- 
sulted by  Dr.  Miller,  and  already  quoted,  says  :'  "  On  this  point 
the  evidence  I  think  is  equally  clear  that  ruling  elders  were  not 
then,  and  never  have  been  set  apart  to  their  office  by  imposition 
of  hands."  In  a  treatise  formerly  mentioned,  Alexander  Hender- 
son, when  treating  of  elders  and  deacons,  says, — "  When  the 
day  of  their  admission  cometh,  the  pastor  having  framed  his  doc- 
trine to  the  purpose,  calleth  them  up  and  remembering  both  them 
of  their  duty  in  their  charge,  and  the  people  of  their  submitting 


'  Office  of  the  Ruling  Elder,  p.  134.     See,  also,  The  Divine  Right  of  Ch. 
Gov't,  p.  270,  Quick's  Synodicon,  vol.  i.  p.  229. 


OF    THE    ORDINATION    OF    RULING    ELDERS,    ETC.  Ill) 

themselves  unto  them,  they  are  solemnly  received  with  lifted  up 
hands,  giving  their  promise  to  be  faithful."  Mr.  James  Guthrie 
in  his  treatise  says,  "  Their  admission  is  to  be  by  the  minister  of 
the  congregation,  or  one  appointed  by  the  presbytery,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  whole  congregation,  with  the  preaching  of  the  word," 
&c.  On  this  subject  Dr.  Miller  himself  is  very  candid.  *'And  yet," 
says  he,'  "  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that,  since  the  Reforma- 
tion from  Popery,  when  the  use  of  this  office  was  almost  univer- 
sally revived,  the  mode  of  conducting  its  investiture  by  the  impo- 
sition of  hands  has  been  almost  every  where  omitted.  When  this 
formality  began  to  be  omitted,  and  for  what  reason,  are  questions 
for  the  solution  of  which  we  do  not  possess  definite  information. 
What  the  practice  of  the  Waldenses,  and  other  pious  witnesses 
of  the  truth  during  the  dark  ages,  who  uniformly  maintained  the 
office  of  Ruling  Elder,  during  all  their  hardships  and  persecu- 
tions, was,  cannot  now,  so  far  as  I  know,  be  certainly  deter- 
mined." At  what  period  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land it  was  that  the  annual  election  of  elders  was  laid  aside  and 
the  office  made  permanent,  is  not  with  absolute  certainty  known. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Lorimer,  in  his  late  valuable  treatise  on  the  Elder- 
ship in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  supposes  it  to  have  been  about 
the  year  1642,  a  short  time  before  the  meetingof  the  Westminster 
Assembly.  But  so  great  was  the  force  of  habit,  that  notwith- 
standing this  change  in  the  tenure  of  the  office,  the  old  method 
of  ordination  has  been  continued  in  Scotland  to  this  day,  and 
was  brought  by  our  fathers  to  this  country,  where  it  continued 
without  change  until  1809,  when /br  the  first  time  it  is  believed, 
in  the  Presbyterian  world,  the  practice  of  laying  on  hands  in  the 
ordination  of  elders  was  introduced,  but  has  not  yet  become 
general  in  our  church ;  and  so  far  as  the  present  writer  knows, 
is  entirely  confined  to  the  United  States. 

If,  therefore,  ruling  elders  never  have  been  ordained  by  impo- 
sition of  hands,  and  the  tenure  of  the  office  has  been  so  univer- 
sally temporary,  how  can  it  enter  into  the  heart  of  any  man  to 
conceive  that  they  could  properly  impose  hands  in  the  ordination 


Oilice  of  the  Ruline:  Elder,  p.  114. 


1*30  OF    THE    ORDINATION    OF    RULING    ELDERS 

of  ministers?  This  is  one  of  Baxter's  arguments:  "  And  liow  came 
they,"  says  he,  "  to  have  power  to  ordain  others,"  as  the  Inde- 
pendents, against  whom  he  reasons,  alleged,  "  and  are  not  ordain- 
ed themselves,  but  are  admitted  upon  bare  election?"^  The 
evidence  on  this  subject  drawn  from  Scripture  and  the  testimony 
of  the  fathers  and  reformers  has  been  already  given  at  length,  and 
is,  we  think,'sufficient  to  prove  that  they  confined  the  terms  bishop 
and  presbyter,  at  least  in  their  strict  and  otBcial  character  as  ti- 
tles of  office,  to  the  pastor  ;  and  that  they  also  limited  to  them  the 
power  of  ordination  as  well  as  of  preaching,  administering  sa- 
craments, and  presiding  in  the  church  and  in  its  councils.  We 
will  only  therefore  add  in  this  place  one  or  two  additional  testi- 
monies which  have  occurred  to  us  in  our  reading. 

Calderwood  in  his  "  Pastor  and  Prelate,"  published  in  1628, 
says,^  "The  Pastor  findeth  it  to  be  so  far  against  the  word  of  God 
to  claim  any  authority  over  his  brethren,  that  albeit  there  be  a 
divine  order  in  the  Kirk,  whereby  there  is  one  kind  of  ministry, 
both  ordinary  and  extraordinary,  in  degree  and  dignity  before 
another,  as  the  apostle  before  all  others,  the  pastor  before  the 
elder  and  deacon,  yet  he  can  find  no  minister,  ordinary  or  ex- 
traordinary, that  hath  any  majority  of  power  over  other  inferior 
ministers  of  another  kind, — as  the  pastor  over  the  elder  and  dea- 
con, far  less  over  other  ministers  of  the  same  kind,  as  the  pastor 
or  bishop  over  the  pastor. ^ 

"  The  pastor  with  his  fellow  presbyters,  as  he  is  put  in  trust 
with  the  preaching  of  the  word  and  ministration  of  the  sacra- 
ments, HATH  RECEIVED  ALSO  OF  ChRIST  THE  POWER  OF  ORDI- 
NATION OF  PASTORS,  where  presbytery,^  never  used  in  the  New 

^  Dissert,  on  Ch.  Gov't,  p.  1G7. 

«  The  First  Part,  §§  6  and  8. 

^  By  Scripture,  no  aposile  hath  power  over  another  apostle,  nor  evangelist 
over  another  evangelist,  nor  eider  over  another  elder,  nor  deacon  over  another 
deacon  ;  but  all  are  equal. 

*  1  Tim.  4:  14.  Neither  doth  the  apostle  deny  that  to  presbyters  v/hich 
he  did  himself  with  them,  and  which  he  ascribeth  to  Timothy.  1  Tim.  5:  22. 
2  Tim.  1 :  6.  Neither  the  prelate  himself  denieth  the  power  of  ordination  to 
the  presbyter,  but  the  exercise  of  the  power  which  he  arrogateth  to  himself. 
Ordinat.  Deus  per  ecclesiam,  ordinat.  ecclesia  per  presbyterium  per  episcopoe. 


BY    IMPOSITION    OF    HANDS,    ETC.  121 

Testament  to  signify  the  office  of  priesthood  or  order  of  a 
presbyter,  cm  be  no  other  thing  but  the  persons  or  company 
of  pastors  laying  on  their  hands,  and  that  not  only  for  consent, 
but  for  consecration,  of  which  number  any  one  may  pronounce 
the  words  of  blessing.  We  will  now  introduce  a  quotation 
which  will  be  at  the  same  time  an  argument.  It  is  from  that 
celebrated  work,  "  JusDivinum  Ministerii  Evangelici,"  written  by 
"  the  Provincial  Assembly  of  London"  in  the  year  1654,  and  di- 
rected principally  against  the  Independents.  They  ask,i  "  What 
part  hath  the  Ruling  Elder  in  ordination  ?  Supposing  that  there  is 
such  an  officer  in  the  church,  (for  the  proof  of  which  we  refer  the 
reader  to  our  vindication,)  we  answer  that  the  power  o^  ordering 
of  the  whole  work  of  ordination  belongs  to  the  whole  presbytery, 
that  is,'to  the  teaching  and  ruling  Elders.  But  imposition  of 
hands  is  to  be  always  by  preaching  presbyters,  and  the  rather  be- 
cause it  is  accompanied  with  prayer  and  exhortation,  both  before, 
in,  and  after,  which  is  the  proper  work  of  the  teaching  Elder;" 
and  in  Part  Second  they  argue  this  question  still  more  at 
length.2 

We  might  multiply  quotations,  but  cannot  avoid  presenting 
one  other.  It  is  from  a  very  curious  and  able  work  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Ball,  "  sometime  fellow  of  Emmanuel  College  in  Cam- 
bridge, now  minister  of  the  gospel  in  Northampton,  at  the  re- 
quest and  by  the  advice  of  very  many  of  his  neighbor  ministers," 
entitled  "  Pastorum  Propugnaculum,  or  the  Pulpit's  Patronage 
against  the  force  of  unordained  usurpation  and  invasion,"  print- 
ed at  London  in  1656.  After  discussing  at  length  the  nature  of 
ordination,  and  who  should  administer  it,  he  adds,^  "  They  should 
be  '  head  officers ;'  Paul  was  a  head  officer,  yet  hath  a  hand  in 
Timothys  ordination,  as  we  have  showed  before.  The  lowest 
that  we  read  of  were  prophets  and  teachers  in  the  church  at  An- 
tioch  ;  in  that  Presbytery  that  Paul  speaks  of,  it  is  very  like  there 
were  Apostles ;  for  Peter,  none  of  the  meanest,  thinks  not  himself 

»  Part  I.  p.  182. 

2  Part  II.  pp.  96-98. 

3  Lond.  4to.  pp.  344.     See  p.  234,  235. 

7 


122  OF    TIIF.    ORDINATION    OF    RULING    ELDERS 

too  good  to  be  a  Presbyter — *  The  elders  whicli  are  among  you,  1 
exhort,  who  am  also  an  elder' — that  is,  a  Presbyter,  and  it  is  no 
wonder  that  the  highest  did  attend  it,  for  it  is  the  highest  work, 
a  consecrating  or  devoting  one  unto  the  highest  honor  and  em- 
ployment in  the  church,  the  matching  and  espousing  one  to  Je- 
sus Christ,  the  putting  of  one's  hand  unto  the  plow,  from  which 
he  never  must  look  back  again  ;  that  there  are  orders  and  de- 
grees of  officers  appears,  because  the  well  using  of  the  office  of  a 
deacon  was  to  procure  to  himself  a  good  degree  or  step  unto  an- 
other place,  as  the  Apostle  speaks  ;  and  the  Apostles  were  the 
first  or  highest  order  or  degree,  as  appears  from  that  enumera- 
tion that  is  set  down,  yet  they  think  not  themselves  too  good  to 
ordain  the  meanest  officer,  for  so  the  deacons  always  were  ac- 
counted, and  that  in  a  busy  time,  when  they  had  renounced  secular 
employments,  as  below  them,  and  confined  themselves  to  prayer 
and  the  ministry  of  the  word.  So  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  the 
great  apostles  of  the  Gentiles,(yet  thought  it  not  enough  to  preach 
the  Gospel  and  convert  men  to  the  truth,  but  did  also  carefully  or- 
dain them  elders  in  every  church  ;  good  people  therefore  must 
not  think  much  to  leave  tliis  unto  preaching  elders  that  was  nev- 
er practised  by  any  of  God's  people,  either  in  the  Scripture  or  of' 
ter  ages  of  the  church,  and  which  is  really  above  their  sphere, 
even  a  great  deal  more  than  they  can  manage,  or  tell  how  to 
wield,  and  be  content  those  should  perform  it,  that  are  by  God 
deputed  thereunto." 

Thus  much  we  have  added  on  this  question  in  this  place, 
by  way  of  supplement  to  the  previous  discussion,  in  which  it  is 
more  fully  considered.  If  in  Scripture  and  the  Fathers  the 
terms  presbyter  and  bishop  are  limited  in  their  official  sense  to 
preachers,  and  if  such  alone  united  in  the  act  of  ordination,  as 
has  we  think  been  made  apparent,  then,  of  course,  there  can  be 
no  question  as  to  the  right  of  ruling  elders  to  ordain.  And  if 
the  practice  of  reformed  churches,  including  our  own,  have 
been  invariably  opposed  to  such  a  practice,  there  can  be  as 
little  question  as  to  the  expediency  or  propriety  of  introducing 
such  an  innovation  into  the  order  of  our  church.  We  cannot 
therefore  but  hope  that  a  question  so   fruitless  and   unprofitable 


BY    IMPOSITION    OF    HANDS,    ETC.  123 

will  be  allowed  to  rest,  and  that  the  energies  of  the  church  will 
be  devoted  to  the  upbuilding  of  her  waste  places  and  the  exten- 
sion of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.' 

'  Brown  in  his  Vindication  of  the  Presbyterian  Form  of  Church  Gov't, 
Edinb.  1812,  2d  ed.,  occupies  from  p.  64  to  p.  66,  and  again  at  pp.  188,  169, 
in  proving  that  "  ministers  alone  can  ordain  ministers,"  and  he  shows  that  this 
was  admitted  by  many  Independents. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

The  Value    of  the    Eldership. 

It  may  be  profitable  before  bringing  this  work  to  a  close  to 
illustrate  the  value  of  the  Eldership.  i 

There  are  two  dangerous  extremes,  between  which,  as  some 
destructive  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  the  church  of  God  has  pur- 
sued her  hazardous  and  ofttimes  fatal  course.  To  these  we  will 
first  advert. 

The  first  of  these  extremes  is  the  undue  exaltation  and  power 
of  the  Christian  ministry,  which  leads  to  spiritual  despotism,  and 
terminates  in  consequent  corruption. 

The  love  of  power  and  domination  is  one  of  the  most  strongly 
manifested  principles  of  man's  fallen  nature,  and  stands  out 
most  prominently  in  the  blood-stained  history  of  our  apostate 
race.  Equally  certain  is  it  that  those  elements  in  human  nature 
Avhich  constitute  man  a  religious  being,  and  which  bind  him  over 
to  the  unalterable  destinies  of  a  future  and  unseen  world,  are  the 
most  sure  and  effectual  means  by  which  such  spiritual  power 
can  be  established  and  upheld.  Hence  it  is  that  the  chief  in- 
fluence and  sway  over  the  minds  and  consciences  of  men  has 
ever  been  exerted  by  the  priesthood.  And  just  as  the  character 
of  religious  teachers  has  been  pure,  elevated,  and  noble,  or  cor- 
rupt and  debased,  has  their  power  been  found  to  work  out  the 
degradation  or  the  welfare  of  society. 

The  teaching  of  the  doctrines,  and  the  administration  of  the 
ordinances  and  discipline  of  the  Christian  church  have  been  in- 
trusted, by  its  divine  Head,  to  an  order  of  men  who  constitute 
the  ministers  of  the  isanctuary.     And,  while  human  sagacity  and 


THE    VALUE    OF    THE    ELDERSHIP.  125 

care  must  ever  be  insufficient  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  unholy 
and  unworthy  persons  into  this  sacred  office,  it  is  also  certain 
that  even  in  those  who  are  truly  Christian  the  natural  love  of 
power  may  exert  its  influence,  under  the  assumed  pretext  of  a  just 
and  necessary  zeal  for  the  honor  and  glory  of  God,  From  both 
these  causes  it  was  early  found  that  the  Christian  ministry,  at  least 
to  some  considerable  extent,  arrogated  to  itself  an  undue  authority 
in  the  church ;  claimed  the  possession  of  all  heavenly  gifts,  so 
as  that  these  could  not  be  received  except  through  their  hands; 
and  separated  the  clergy  from  the  laity  by  a  high  wall  of  myste- 
rious sanctity ;  until  at  length  the  laity  were  excluded  from  all 
interference  with  ecclesiastical  arrangements,  and  were  taught 
to  look  with  implicit  faith  and  reverence  to  these  spiritual  de- 
positories of  heavenly  grace,  for  all  saving  and  divine  communi- 
cations. 

Such  an  exclusive  management  of  the  whole  business  of  the 
church  would,  of  course,  insensibly  lead  its  ministers  to  intro- 
duce rites,  ceremonies,  and  doctrines  adapted  to  secure  the 
establishment  of  these  spiritual  claims.  For  this  purpose  it  was 
taught  that  the  gifts  and  graces  of  God  were  vested  as  a  sacred 
deposit  in  the  ministry,  and  were  only  to  be  obtained  through 
their  instrumentality.  For  this  purpose  were  the  people  made 
to  believe  that  sins  committed  after  baptism  were  scarcely,  if  at 
all,  remissible,  and  that  when  remitted  it  was  only  through  the 
penances  prescribed  by  these  priestly  mediators.  For  this  pur- 
pose was  the  cup  withheld  from  the  laity,  and  the  Lord's  Supper 
changed  into  the  idolatrous  service  of  the  mass.  For  this  pur- 
pose were  auricular  confession,  pilgrimages,  indulgences,  con- 
secration of  places  and  of  utensils,  and  all  the  other  forms,  rites, 
and  ceremonies,  which  have  been  from  time  to  time  adopted, 
made  of  primary  and  indispensable  importance.  By  these  and 
similar  methods  was  the  ministry  exalted  and  the  laity  humbled  ; 
the  former  clothed  with  the  prerogatives  of  God,  and  the  latter 
despoiled  of  the  rights  and  immunities  secured  to  them  by  Christ. 
Spiritual  despotism  being  thus  established,  the  corruption  of  the 
entire  system  of  the  gospel  was  a  necessary  and  unavoidable 
consequence,  since  in  its  purity  it  asserts  the  liberty  of  its  dis- 
ciples, emancipates  them  from   the  yoke  of  servility   to  their 


126  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  ELDERSHIP. 

fellow  men,  and  introduces  them  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God. 

Now  this  system  of  iniquity  yet  works,  and  the  principles 
which  lead  to  it  are,  and  ever  will  be,  common  to  every  inheritor 
of  our  fallen  humanity.  Christian  ministers  now  are,  by  nature, 
what  they  ever  were  and  ever  must  be,  weak,  erring,  sinful,  and 
fallible  mortals.  The  tendency  of  this  corrupt]  nature  would  of 
itself  lead  them  to  the  assumption  of  undue  power,  and  of  unau- 
thorized prerogatives,  and  to  the  consequent  perversion  to  their 
own  carnal  purposes  and  professional  aggrandizement,  of  the 
oracles  of  God.  • 

How  admirable,  therefore,  is  the  wisdom  of  God  in  providing 
a  counteracting  agency  in  the  people,  and  in  their  delegated 
representatives,  the  Christian  Eldership,  by  which  the  approaches 
of  this  spiritual  tyranny  may  be  checked,  and  the  first  inroad  of 
heresy  stayed.  These  are  representatives  of  the  people,  chosen 
and  delegated  hy  the  people,  and  not  by  the  ministry.  Ruling 
elders  are  in  constant  and  familiar  intercourse  with  the  people. 
They  are,  or  ought  to  be,  numerous.  They  are  independent  of 
the  clergy.  They  can  carry  an  appeal  from  their  decisions  to 
all  the  appointed  judicatories  of  the  church.  And  thus,  if  they 
are  in  any  good  measure  faithful  men,  they  may  effectually  guard 
the  members  of  the  church  from  the  possibility  of  all  ecclesiastical 
tyranny  ;  and  the  doctrines  of  the  church  from  all  ecclesiastical 
perversion  by  a  wily,  selfish,  ambitious,  unconverted,  or  hereti- 
cal clergy. 

"  Wherefore,"  says  Hilary  or  Ambrose,  in  the  Commentary 
usually  attributed  to  him,  (on  1  Tim.  5:  1,)  ''  both  the  syna- 
gogue and  afterwards  the  church  had  seniors,  without  whose 
counsel  nothing  was  done  in  the  church ;  which  order,  by  what 
negligence  it  grew  into  disuse  I  know  not,  unless  perhaps  by  the 
sloth,  or  rather  by  the  pride  of  the  teachers,  while  they  alone 
wish  to  appear  something."  Nothing,  therefore,  has  been  more 
violently  resented  by  High  Church  prelatists  of  every  age  than 
this  interference  of  the  laity  with  what  they  arrogantly  claim  as 
their  sole  and  exclusive  jurisdiction.  The  eldership  has  conse- 
quently been  declaimed  against  as  an  "  inquisitorial  court  not  to 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  ELDERSHIP.  J27 

be  endured/''  and  at  this  very  moment  is  it  boldly  declared  by 
the  divines  of  Oxford  that  the  admission  of  the  laity  in  any  form 
into  the  ecclesiastical  assemblies  of  the  American  Episcopal 
church,  is  a  manifest  usurpation  which  must  be  overthrown.- 

In  the  early  ages  of  the  church  the  right  of  the  people  to  a 
participation  in  the  government  of  the  church  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  never  [questioned.  They  voted  for  their  pastors  even  as 
they  do  in  Presbyterian  churches  now,  and  were  summoned  to- 
gether whenever  the  election  of  a  Bishop  became  necessary.^ 
Thus  in  the  year  A.  D.  448,  as  Bede  informs  us,  Germanus  and 
Lupus  were  sent  from  France  into  England  to  suppress  the  Pela- 
gian heresy.  A  synod  or  council  was  summoned  at  Verolam, 
(St.  Albans,)  in  which  the  people,  the  laity  as  well  as  the  clergy, 
had  decisive  votes  in  determining  points  of  doctrine.*  ''  The 
ancient  method,"  says  Burns,  ''  was  not  only  for  the  clergy  but 
the  body  of  the  people  within  such  a  district  to  appear  at  synods, 
of  whom  a  certain  number  were  selected  to  give  information, 
while  four,  six,  or  eight  delegates,  according  to  the  extent  of 
the  parish,  represented  the  rest,  and  sat  with  the  clergy  as  testes 
synodates."^ 

It  was  from  a  conviction  of  these  truths,  and  from  a  belief 
that  such  officers  were  absolutely  necessary  to  withstand  those 
excesses  of  tyranny  practised  by  the  Romish  clergy  at  and  before 
the  period  of  the  Reformation,  that  Calvin  in  1542  revived  these 
rules  in  the  Christian  church  at  Geneva,  as  they  had  been  already 
elsewhere.^ 

Since  then  it  appears  that  when  the  usurping  power  of  pre- 
latical  ambition  ruled  over  God's  heritage,  this  office,  which 
gave  an  interposing  authority  to  the  people,  was  discontinued; 
and  that  when  the  church  was  roused  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to 
throw  off  that  spiritual  despotism,  she   found  it  necessary  to 

^  Whitgift.'s  Defence,  Soames,  Eliz.  Rel.  Hist. 

2  See  British  Critic,  as  fully  quoted  in  my  Lectures  on  the  Apost.  Succes. 
pp.  309-312. 

3  See  Clarkson's  Primitive  Episcopacy. 

4  Eccl.  Hist.  lib.  i.  c.  17,  in  Bib.  Repert.  1837,  p.  15. 
^  Burns'  Eccl.  Law,  vol.  i.  p.  408. 

«  See  Brown  on  Ch.  Gov't,  p.  126. 


128  THE  VALUE  OP  THE  ELDERSHIP. 

summon  to  her  aid  these  divinely  authorized  officers;  and  since 
the  same  tendency  to  undue  and  arbitrary  authority  is  native  to 
corrupt  humanity,  and  will  therefore  ever  manifest  itself,  the 
value  and  importance  to  be  attached  to  the  office  of  the  Chris- 
tian Eldership  must  be  at  once  apparent. 

Such  has  ever  been  its  influence  in  the  reformed  Kirk  of 
Scotland  ;  so  that  when  the  Book  of  Canons  was  sent  to  Scot- 
land in  1635,  by  authority  of  King  Charles,  but  in  reality  through 
the  influence  of  Archbishop  Laud,  it  constituted  one  chief  item 
in  the  list  of  grievances  against  which  the  nation  boldly  protested, 
that  thereby  "  lay-elders  were  rejected."'  And  it  will  be  manifest 
to  every  attentive  reader  of  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
that  both  at  the  period  of  her  first  and  second  reformation,  it  was 
only  by  the  bold,  uncompromising,  and  steadfast  adherence  to 
the  cause  of  covenanted  truth,  by  the  representatives  of  the  laity, 
the  cause  of  reform  was  maintained  against  the  combined  power 
of  Erastian  plunderers  and  Romish  plotters ;  and  that  but  for 
their  resolute  and  persevering  stand,  the  cause  of  Presbyterian- 
ism  would  have  been  in  some  cases  sold  into  the  hands  of  pow- 
erful rulers.^ 

To  the  elders,  in  connexion  with  the  pastor,  is  committed 
the  authoritative  administration  of  the  discipline  of  the  church, 
both  as  a  preservative  against  error,  and  also  against  immorality  ; 
and  the  purity  or  impurity,  the  prosperity  or  adversity  of  the 
church  since  the  Reformation  will  be  found  to  coincide  with  the 
degree  of  their  faithfulness  or  unfaithfulness  in  the  exercise  of 
this  double  spiritual  power. 

When  General  and  Provincial  Assemblies  were  suppressed  in 
Scotland,  and  presbyteries  neglected,  ministers  became  negligent, 
immorality  and  heresy  prevailed,  and  Popery  increased. ^  And 
the  present  lamentable  condition  of  the  church  in  Germany, 
where  infidel  and  unchristian  tenets  have  been  substituted  for  the 
pure  word  of  God,  is  also  traceable  to  the  deficient  constitutions 
of  the  German  churches,  their  entire  want  of  control  over  the 
opinions  of  their  own  ministers,  and  their  wild  licentious  exer- 
cise of  the  right  of  private  judgment  on  every  question,  however 

^  See  Life  of  Henderson  by  Dr.  Alton. 

«  See  do.  do.  pp.  311,  312,  317,  322,  &c.  ^  Ibid.  p.  157. 


THE    VALUE    OF    THE    ELDERSHIP.  129 

mysterious  and  momentous.^  These  evils  have  been  so  strongly 
felt,  and  their  cause  so  clearly'discerned,  that  measures  are  in 
progress  for  the  establishment  of  a  more  efficient  church  govern- 
ment and  discipline.  JNot  only  is  this  true  of  the  continental 
church  generally — it  is  most  lamentably  exemplified  in  the  church 
in  Geneva,  where  the  worldly  character  of  the  elders,  and  their 
exclusion  from  the  highest  ecclesiastical  court,  which  is  composed 
of  clergymen  merely,  have  enabled  unprincipled  men  gradually 
and  most  insidiously  to  supplant  with  Socinian  formularies  all 
the  existing  standards  of  the  church. ^ 

So,  also,  in  England,  the  lax  discipline,  and  the  imperfect 
constitution  of  the]  Old  Presbyterian  churches  (for  Presbyterian- 
ism  never  was  fully  carried  out  in  that  country,  and  therefore 
never  could  exert  its  full  efficiency)  gave  occasion  to  the  cor- 
ruption of  doctrine  and  the  degeneracy  of  piety. 

"It  is  of  the  very  greatest  importance,"  says  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Thomson,  in  the  Scottish  Christian  Herald,  "  to  ascertain  the 
causes  of  this  remarkable  and  deplorable  decline  of  Presbyterian- 
ism.  The  grinding  persecutions  to  which  Presbyterians  were 
subjected  by  Cromwell,  an  Independent,  and  by  the  faithless 
Episcopalians,  under  the  Stuarts,  prevented  them  from  erecting 
the  platform  of  their  scriptural  polity,  and  familiarized  many  to 
the  more  attainable,  plastic,  and  accommodating  institutions  of 
Congregationalism. 

"  Presbyterians  began  to  look  upon  forms  of  church  govern- 
ment as  not  of  Divine  institution;  they  regarded  them  as  merely 
human  expedients  for  the  preservation  of  order  ;  and  that,  there- 
fore, a  church  might  be  just  as  rightly  constituted  under  one  form 
as  under  another  ;  they  talked,  indeed,  of  Episcopalianism's  being 
adapted  to  rich  and  gorgeous  England,  and  of  Presbyterianism's 
being  adapted  to  poor  and  homely  Scotland.  The  necessary  con- 
sequence of  this  miserable  delusion  was,  that  the  strictness  of  dis- 
cipline gave  way  ;  Presbyterianism  came  to  be  branded  as  stiff, 
rigid,  puritanical  and  unaccommodating;  and  numbers  of  the 
churches  lapsed  into  Independency,  and  thence  sank  into  Soci- 

*  See  Rose  on,  in  Bib.  Repert.  1826,  pp.  405  and  449. 
^  See  Dr.  Heugh's  Religion  in  Geneva  and  Belgium. 

7* 


ISO 


THE    VALUE    OF    THE    ELDERSHIP. 


nianism.  By  many  churches  which  did  not  go  the  whole  length 
of  this  declension,  alliances  and  agreements  were  entered  into 
with  Congregationalists,  which  but  opened  a  door  for  admission 
into  the  congregations  of  the  more  acceptable  doctrines  of  the 
latter,  who  broke  the  pactions  as  soon  as  they  saw  that  this  pur- 
pose had  been  sufficiently  served.  Seldom  were  pains  taken  any 
where  to  instruct  the  people  in  the  counsel  of  God,  respecting 
the  form  and  government  of  the  church.  Every  thing  relating 
to  such  matters  was  rather,  indeed,  studiously  kept  out  of  sight. 
The  result  was  inevitable — the  people  became  ignorant  of  the 
subject,  and  as  indifferent  to  it  as  they  were  ignorant  of  it.  The 
consequence  was,  that  the  framework  of  Presbyterianism  was,  in 
many  places,  gradually  and  utterly  dissolved  ;  and  congregation 
after  congregation  passed  into  other  communions  without  even  an 
effort  being  made  to  retain  them." 

Seeing,  therefore,  that  if  true  doctrine  and  true  piety  are  left 
to  the  care  and  preservation  of  the  clergy  merely^  they  will  as  cer- 
tainly be  in  time  corrupted  ;^  and  that  under  God  the  life  of  the 
church  is  maintained  by  a  faithful  discipline  and  control ;  the 
importance  of  a  Christian  eldership,  who  shall  act  as  overseers 
of  the  flock,  and  as  helps  and  governments,  cannot  be  too  highly 
estimated.  They  are  guardians  of  the  spiritual  liberties  and  the 
religious  freedom  of  the  people.  They  are  set  for  the  defence 
and  preservation  of  the  truth,  not  by  its  inculcation  from  the 
sacred  desk,  but  by  the  preservation  of  that  desk  itself  from  the 
intrusion  of  erroneous  and  unsound  teachers. ^ 

*'  That  there  has  never  been  any  open  and  avowed  departure 
from  Calvinistic  doctrines  in  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the 
United  States,"  says  Dr.  Hodge  in  his  Constitutional  History, 
"  while  repeated  and  extended  defections  have  occurred  in  New 
England,  isafact  worthy  of  special  consideration.  The  cause  of  this 
remarkable  difference  in  the  history  of  these  two  portions  of  the 

^  That  heresies  have  generally  originated  with  aspiring  clergymen,  see  Fa- 
ber's  Albigenses,  p.  567.  And  that  they  have  generally  been  opposed  to  all 
reformation  of  abuses,  see  Conder's  View  of  all  Religions,  p.  78  ;  Neal's  Hist, 
vol.  iv.  p.  vii.  429  ;  Burnet's  Hist,  of  Ref.  vol.  i.  p.  xvi.,  xxi. 

*  On  the  Influence  of  Elders  and  the  Lnity,  in  checking  error,  see  Bib. 
Repertory,  1837,  p.  15,  17. 


THE    VALUE    OF    THE    ELDERSHIP.  131 

church,  may  be  sought  by  different  persons  in  different  circum- 
stances. Presbyterians  may  be  excused  if  they  regard  their  form 
of  government  as  one  of  the  most  important  of  those  causes.  New 
England  has  enjoyed  greater  religious  advantages  than  any  other 
portion  of  our  country.  It  was  settled  by  educated  and  devoted 
men.  Its  population  was  homogeneous  and  compact.  The  peo- 
ple were  almost  all  of  the  same  religious  persuasion.  The  Pres- 
byterian church,  on  the  contrary,  has  labored  under  great  dis- 
advantages. Its  members  were  scattered  here  and  there,  in  the 
midst  of  other  denominations.  Its  congregations  were  widely 
separated,  and,  owing  to  the  sparseness  of  the  people,  often  very 
feeble  ;  and,  moreover,  not  unfrequently  composed  of  discordant 
materials,  Irish,  Scotch,  German,  French,  and  English.  Yet 
doctrinal  purity  has  been  preserved  to  a  far  greater  extent  in  the 
latter  denomination  than  in  the  former.  What  is  the  reason  ? 
Is  it  not  to  be  sought  in  the  conservative  influence  of  Presbyte- 
rianism  ?  The  distinguished  advantages  possessed  by  New  Eng- 
land, have  produced  their  legitimate  effects.  It  would  be  not 
less  strange  than  lamentable,  had  the  institutions,  instructions, 
and  example  of  the  pious  founders  of  New  England  been  of  no 
benefit  to  their  descendants.  It  is  to  these  sources  that  portion 
of  our  country  is  indebted  for  its  general  superiority.  The  ob- 
vious decline  in  the  religious  character  of  the  people,  and  the  ex- 
tensive prevalence,  at  different  periods,  of  fanaticism  and  Antino- 
mianism,  Arminianism  and  Pelagianism,  is,  as  we  believe,  to  be 
mainly  attributed  to  an  unhappy  and  unscriptural  ecclesiastical 
organization.  Had  New  England,  with  her  compact  and  homo- 
geneous population,  and  all  her  other  advantages,  enjoyed  the 
benefit  of  a  regular  Presbyterian  government  in  the  church,  it 
would,  in  all  human  probability,  have  been  the  finest  ecclesiasti- 
cal community  in  the  world. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  a  great  majority  of  all  the  distmguish- 
ed  ministers  whom  New  England  has  produced,  have  entertained 
the  opinion  here  expressed  on  the  subject.  President  Edwards, 
for  example,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Erskine,  said,  '  I  have  long  been 
out  of  conceit  of  our  unsettled,  independent,  confused  way  of 
church  government ;  and  the  Presbyterian  way  has  ever  appeared 
to  me  most  aareeable  to  the  word  of  God,  and  the  reason  and 


132  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  ELDERSHlt. 

nature  of  things.'  Life,  p.  412.  Where  the  preservation  of  the 
purity  of  the  church  is  committed  to  the  mass  of  the  people,  who, 
as  a  general  rule,  are  incompetent  to  judge  in  doctrinal  matters, 
and  who,  in  many  cases,  are  little  under  the  influence  of  true 
religion,  we  need  not  wonder  that  corruption  should  from  time  to 
time  prevail.  As  Christ  has  appointed  presbyters  to  rule  in  the 
church  according  to  his  word,  on  them  devolve  the  duty  and  re- 
sponsibility of  maintaining  the  truth.  This  charge  is  safest  in 
the  hands  of  those  to  whom  Christ  has  assigned  it." 

But  there  is  also  another  extreme  to  which  the  church  may 
be  driven,  and  which  is  followed  by  consequences  equally  dan- 
gerous and  destructive,  and  that  is  the  undue  influence  and  inter- 
ference of  the  people.  There  may  be  a  spiritual  democracy  as 
well  as  a  spiritual  despotism — a  spiritual  anarchy  and  wild  mis- 
rule, as  well  as  an  arbitrary  exercise  of  spiritual  and  ministerial 
authority.  For  if  ministers,  with  all  their  knowledge,  their  mo- 
tives to  piety,  and  their  solemn  obligations  to  preserve  and  per- 
petuate the  truth,  are  often  found  insufiicient  to  withstand  the 
temptations  to  self-aggrandizement,  how  much  less  are  the  mass 
of  any  congregation  or  church  qualified  for  the  exercise  of  power 
and  the  discernment  of  truth  ?  The  manij  will  always  be  guided 
by  ihefeiD,  and  will  implicitly  follow  their  direction  ;  while  these 
will  be  swayed  in  their  determinations  by  party  spirit,  prejudice, 
or  personal  animosity.  When  all  are  judges  and  rulers,  and  all 
have  equal  voice  and  authority,  tyranny  and  misrule  must  neces- 
sarily, in  the  very  nature  of  things,  be  the  result. 

The  principle  of  representation  on  which  the  power  of  gov- 
ernment and  control  is  delegated  by  the  many  to  the  ^ew,  is 
therefore  found  to  be  of  essential  importance  in  all  social  and  politi- 
cal bodies.  The  ultimate  power  being  in  the  mass,  its  present 
exercise  is  committed  to  appointed  officers. 

Now  this  principle  God  has  sanctioned  in  the  church,  where 
all  authority  and  power,  though  vested  not  in  the  people  gene- 
rally, is  to  be  e-xercised  by  officers  chosen  by,  and  from  among, 
the  people.  An  order  of  ministers,  also,  are  empowered  with  the 
exclusive  office  and  authority  of  preaching  the  gospel  and  admin- 
istering the  sacraments,  ordained  by  previously  existing  minis- 
ters, and  then  elected  by  the  people.     And  as  salvation  is  made 


THE    VALUE    OF    THE    ELDERSHIP.  139» 

to  depend  upon  the  preaching  and  hearing  of  the  truth ;  and 
since  the  power  of  the  truth  depends  upon  the  purity  and  fidelity 
with  which  it  is  proclaimed,  it  is  clearly  as  necessary  that  the 
ministry  should  be  upheld  and  maintained  in  the  exercise  of  all 
proper  independence  and  authority,  that  it  may  be  under  no  over- 
bearinor  influence  through  fear  of  the  hatred,  or  desire  of  the 
favor  of  the  people,  as  that  the  rights  of  the  people  should  be 
guarded  against  the  encroachments  of  spiritual  tyranny.  All 
order,  discipline,  and  jurisdiction  are  as  likely  to  be  overthrown, 
and  the  truth  of  God  as  likely  to  be  perverted  and  made  to  adapt 
itself  to  the  taste  of  man,  where  they  are  subject  to  the  domi- 
neering caprices  of  the  multitude,  as  wdien  left  to  the  exclusive 
management  of  a  single  individual.'  * 

The  Christian  eldership,  therefore,  is  of  great  value  and  im- 
portance, when  viewed  as  the  guardian  of  the  just  rights  and  ne- 
cessary authority  of  the  ministry,  and  as  a  check  to  the  capri- 
cious and  unauthorized  interference  of  the  people,  or  of  any  as- 
piring individuals  among  the  people.  Anarchy  and  wild  misrule 
are  as  dangerous  as  despotism  ;  and  the  way  of  safety  lies  in  that 
happy  medium  which  preserves  authority  within  its  just  and  pro- 
per limits,  and  secures  obedience  to  all  the  rightful  demands  of 
lawful  officers.  The  eldership  is  thus  the  balance-weight  between 
the  ministry  and  the  people,  by  which  they  are  kept  in  a  happy 
equilibrium  ;  appointed  by  the  people,  and  yet  acting  with  the 
pastor;  representatives  of  the  people,  but  bound  over  to  solemn 
fidelity  to  all  the  interests  of  the  church  ;  and  numerous,  that  they 
may  the  better  supply  all  the  necessities  which  demand  their 
care,  and  the  better  guard  against  whatever  influence  might  be 
exerted  to  introduce  disorder  or  corruption  into  the  bosom  of 
the  church. 

"  Presbyterianism,"  says  the  author  already  quoted,  "  though, 
no  doubt,  adapted  to  human  nature,  as  every  Divine  institution 
unquestionably  must  be,  is  yet  not  a  form  of  church  government 
which  men  will  naturally  choose.  Tt  is  adapted  to  reform,  not  to 
please  human  nature.  There  is  in  it  both  too  much  and  too  little  of 

^  As  illustrative  of  the  anarchy  which  must  result  from  the  exercise  of  spir- 
itual powers  by  the  people,  see  Div.  Right  of  Ch.  Gov't,  pp.  Ill  and  114. 


134  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  ELDERSHIP. 

goyernmental  character,  too  much  and  too  little  of  distinction  of 
order,  too  much  of  ruling  required,  and  yet  too  little  power  confer- 
red upon  the  rulers,  ever  to  render  it  generally,  much  less  univer- 
sally, palatable.  Those  who  love  power  will  naturally  prefer  pre- 
lacy. Presb}'terianism,  by  placing  all  the  pastors  of  the  church 
on  the  same  level,  and  by  forbidding  them  to  be  lords,  in  any 
sense,  over  God's  heritage,  affords  no  scope  to  clerical  pride  or 
ambition  on  the  one  hand,  or  to  the  indulgence  of  a  servile,  inert, 
implicitly  confiding  submission  on  the  other.  By  associating 
churches,  and  placing  the  government  of  them,  not  in  the  hands 
of  one  individual,  but  in  a  body  corporate,  composed  not  of  min- 
isters exclusively,  but  of  ministers  and  elders  in  equal  propor- 
tions, and  with  equal  gubernatorial  authority,  not  of  a  legislative, 
but  only  of  a  ministerial  nature,  Presbyterianism  stands  opposed  to 
despotism,  whether  it  be  despotism  over  a  diocese,  or  despotism 
over  a  congregation,  the  despotism  of  ministers  over  their  people,  or 
of  people  over  their  ministers.  Men  generally  may  love  power  and 
liberty  in  the  things  of  this  present  world,  but  the  greater  part  are 
heartily  content  thai  others  both  think  and  act  for  them  in  matters 
relating  to  religion  and  the  world  to  come.  All  such  persons  will 
prefer, as  circumstancesmay  modify  their  taste, either  Papal, Dioce- 
san, or  Congregational,  to  Presbyterial  Episcopacy.  Presbyterian- 
ism will  not  permit  a  minister,  how  strong  soever  his  desire  or  great 
his  ability  to  rule  over  a  congregation,  to  do  so  ;  neither  will  it  al- 
low such  of  the  people  as  may  be  disposed,  to  rule  over  the  min- 
ister. It  scripturally  subordinates  the  minister  to  his  ministerial 
brethren,  and  the  people  to  those  who  have  the  rule  over  them  in 
the  Lord  ;  and  thus,  how  much  soever  it  may  be  adapted  to  the 
condition,  it  certainly  is  not  palatable  to  the  wishes  of  fallen  hu- 
manity. Presbyterianism  is  part  and  parcel  of  the  Cross,  and 
must,  in  part,  partake  of  the  offence  of  the  Cross." 

"The  elders,"  says  Dr.  Aiton,  in  his  Life  of  Henderson,  "  than 
whom  there  does  not  exist  a  more  pious  and  kind-hearted  class  of 
men,  have  ever  strengthened  the  hand  and  often  encouraged  the 
heart  of  their  minister.  As  a  connecting  link  between  a  minister 
and  his  people,  they  soften  asperities,  correct  prejudices,  and  pos- 
sess opportunities  of  explaining  and  justifying  or  palliating  his  con- 
duct in  many  instances,  where  the  injury  could  neither  have  been 


THE    VALUE    OF    THE    ELDERSHIP.  1^5 

Otherwise  found  out  or  counteracted.  In  the  little  priory  council- 
meetings  at  the  manse,  their  discretion,  accompanied  with  mod- 
est sincerity,  often  corrects  a  want  of  knowledge  of  character  on 
the  part  of  the  newly  inducted  moderator.  A  minister,  therefore, 
without  elders  in  his  session,  is  as  much  to  be  pitied  as  a  man 
without  friends  ;  and  he  is  no  more  fit  for  the  efficient  discharge 
of  his  parochial  duties,  than  any  artisan  deprived  of  the  right 
arm  is  for  his  trade.  In  the  presbytery,  elders  give  unity  and 
vigor  to  our  deliberations,  promote  impartiality  of  judgment, 
deaden  jealousy  among  the  members,  and,  above  all,  give  the 
church  a  hold  on  public  opinion.  In  the  General  Assembly, 
now  the  only  remnant  of  Scottish  independence,  the  introduction 
of  lay  elders  has  been  attended  with  the  happiest  effects.  The 
finest  talents  usually  exercised  in  secular  concerns,  are  there 
every  day  called  into  requisition,  to  advance  the  well-being  of 
the  church." 

But  we  must  pass  on  to  notice  another  danger  to  which  the 
Christian  church  is  exposed,  and  that  is,  the  tendency  to  make 
religion  a  ministerial  and  not  a  personal  concern.  This  is  a 
deep-seated  principle  of  our  depraved  nature.  In  our  alienation 
from  God,  our  enmity  to  him,  and  our  utter  indisposition  to  spir- 
itual things,  we  are  very  willing  to  resign  to  others  the  burden  of 
an  active  and  devoted  piety.  We  are  very  glad  to  be  religious  bj 
proxy,  and  to  gratify  our  selfish  love  of  ease  by  shifting  away 
from  us  the  obligations  of  a  holy  and  heavenly  zeal.  We  are  full 
glad  to  witness  whatever  amount  of  consecrated  piety  ministers 
may  exhibit,  if  the  people  are  only  left  undisturbed  in  the  pursuit  of 
their  farms,  their  wealth,  or  their  merchandise.  Now  this  whole 
spirit  is  of  the  flesh  ;  it  is  carnal ;  it  is  earthly  ;  it  is  anti-Christian. 
It  is  the  voice  of  the  old  man  pleading  for  his  old  and  inveterate 
habits.  It  is  that  love  of  our  own  selves  and  of  the  world  which 
are  in  their  habitual  indulgence  wholly  irreconcilable  with  the 
love  of  God,  of  Christ,  and  of  the  gospel.  This  spirit  must  be 
expelled,  or  the  church  will  be  possessed  as  by  legions  of  evil 
spirits.  It  must  be  utterly  exterminated,  or  the  cold  stupor  of 
spiritual  death  will  paralyze  its  energies. 

And  what,  under  God,  is  better  adapted  to  bring  home  to 
the  conscience  of  every  Christian  the  imperative  necessity  of  such 


136  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  ELDERSHIP. 

Christian  activity  and  devotedness,  than  the  claim  which  is  made 
by  God  himself  to  the  services  of  a  Christian  eldership,  chosen 
from  among  themselves,  and  the  example  which  is  thus  given  to 
every  member  of  the  flock,  of  the  practicability  and  the  duty  of 
serving  the  Lord  while  diligent  in  business;  and  of  giving  a 
punctual  and  faithful  attention  to  all  the  demands  of  earthly  and 
relative  obligations,  while  at  the  same  time  they  present  as  a  con- 
secrated offering  to  God  the  living  sacrifice  of  the  body,  soul  and 
spirit,  to  the  promotion  of  His  glory  in  the  salvation  of  men? 
There  is  in  a  holy  and  devoted  eldership  a  living  witness  to  these 
just  claims  of  heaven ;  a  visible  demonstration  of  the  duty  of 
every  Christian;  an  open  exposure  of  the  baseless  hypocrisy  and 
groundlessness  of  those  excuses  by  which  too  many  professors  of 
religion  shield  themselves  from  the  just  demand  of  charity  and 
piety;  and  an  undeniable  proof  that  it  is  the  *'  reasonable  ser- 
vice "  of  all  who  profess  to  be  followers  of  Christ,  while 
diligent  in  worldly  business,  to  be  at  the  same  time  fervent  in 
spirit,  serving  the  Lord  ;  and  to  live  not  to  themselves,  or  for  any 
temporal  interests,  but  unto  Him  who  died  for  them  and  rose 
again. 

Finally,  let  us  exhibit  the  value  and  importance  of  the  elder- 
ship, by  considering  how  admirably  the  church  courts,  which  they 
unite  in  forming,  meet  the  wants  of  active  and  etficient  Boards 
or  Agencies  by  which  the  operations  of  benevolence  may  be  car- 
ried on,  and  the  church  aided  in  all  her  Christian  and  evangeli- 
cal efforts. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  the  Independent  churches  in 
England,  who  have  thus  far  been  acting  altogether  upon  the 
principle  of  voluntary  combination  in  carrying  forward  their  mis- 
sionary and  other  labors,  are  now  led  to  acknowledge  the  neces- 
sity of  some  such  ecclesiastical  arrangement  as  we  possess. 
**  We  lay  it  down,"  says  Dr.  Campbell,  the  author  of  the  Prize 
Essay  on  Lay  Agency,  "  as  a  fundamental  principle,  that  all 
evangelical  movements,  in  order  to  success  and  permanence,  so 
far  as  practicable,  ought  to  be  congregational  as  opposed  to  gen- 
eral and  conventional."^     ''  Our  object,"  he  says,  "  is  to  carry 

1  Eclectic  Rev.  Dec.  1839,  p.  669. 


THK    VALUE    OF    THE    ELDEUSHIP.  137 

this  all  iniportant  principle  of  congregational  operation  into 
every  department  of  Christian  agency,  and  to  show  that  every 
congregational  church  is  an  organized  body,  capable  of  perform- 
ing and  designed  to  perform  all  manner  of  evangelical  functions, 
necessary  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel  and  the  salvation  of  men." 
Such  a  church,  therefore,  '*  is  a  system,  a  compound  society, 
branching  forth  in  every  direction  where  work  is  to  be  performed 
in  behalf  of  religious  benevolence.  There  is  not  one  of  those 
various  objects  appertaining  to  the  local  diffusion  of  Christian 
knowledge  for  which  separate  societies  have  been  formed,  which 
might  not  have  been  far  more  easily,  cheaply,  and  effectively  ac- 
complished by  the  churches  of  Christ  acting  in  their  individual, 
organized  capacity.  Whether  those  objects  relate  to  Sabbath 
School  instruction — to  the  farther  cultivation  of  young  people  of 
both  sexes — to  Bible  and  tract  distribution — to  district  visita- 
tion of  the  poor,  in  towns  and  cities,  for  Scripture  reading  and 
exposition — to  cottage  lecturinor  and  village  preaching — or  to 
any  other  pursuits  of  a  like  nature,  they  can  be  effectively  prose- 
cuted only  upon  one  principle,  the  principle  of  congregational 
operation."^ 

The  same  principle  is  very  fully  and  ably  discussed  by  the 
Rev.  W.  H.  Stowell,  President  of  Rotherham  College,  in  "The 
Missionary  Church,  designed  to  show  that  the  spread  of  the  Gos- 
pel is  the  proper  business  of  the  Church  as  the  Church. "^ 

Now  this  is  just  the  system  which  is  already  perfectly  arranged 
in  the  scheme  of  Presbyterianism,  and  which  is  now  in  full 
operation  in  the  conduct  of  our  various  benevolent  enterprises. 
Every  church  is  a  regularly  organized  Christian  society  for  the 
great  object  of  glorifying  God  in  the  salvation  of  men.  Of  this 
society  the  church  session  is  the  board  of  managers,  and  should 
take  eflectu&l  means  to  carry  on  within  each  church  all  the  benev- 
olent operations  of  the  church.  Each  church  again  is  auxiliary 
to  that  Presbytery  within  whose  bounds  it  lies,  and  whose  duty 
it  is  to  sjuide,  stimulate,  concentrate  and  govern  the  separate 
efforts  of  each  individual  church.     So  again  each  Presbytery  is 


^  See  Jethro,  or  A  System  of  Lay  Agency.  Lond.  1339,  pp.  1S6,  1S7. 
'  Lond.  1840.  2d  edition. 


J3S  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  ELDERSHIP, 

auxiliary  to  the  Synod,  and  each  Synod  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, which  gives  unity,  ehergy  and  efficiency  to  the  combined  ef- 
forts of  the  whole  church. 

Now  were  elders  what  they  might  and  ought  to  be,  it  is  at 
once  apparent  that  every  church  in  our  whole  denomination 
would  be  found  in  readiness  to  every  good  work.  No  agencies 
would  be  needful  to  advise  them  of  their  duty,  or  rouse  the  slum- 
bering efforts  of  churches  already  acquainted  with  their  duty,  and 
make  them  forward  in  the  work  and  labor  of  love.  Certainty, 
economy,  and  efficiency  would  soon  characterize  all  the  philan- 
thropic and  Christian  enterprises  of  the  Presbyterian  church; 
and  however  others  might  slacken  in  their  zeal,  she  would  be 
found  going  on  from  strength  to  strength  in  all  holy  devotedness 
to  God. 

But  we  must  close.  And  in  doing  so  we  would  invite  attention 
to  the  following  eloquent  delineation  of  the  value  and  importance 
of  the  eldership  to  the  church  of  Scotland  formerly,  and  of  the 
power  it  may  still  exert  for  the  diffiision  of  Christian  influences 
throughout  any  land.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Guthrie. 

"  In  our  ancestors,"  he  says,  "  wisdom  was  justified  of  her 
children :  and  they  considered  a  charge  of  a  thousand  people 
ample  enough  for  any  man  to  manage.  Nor  did  they  leave  the 
minister  alone  to  manage  it.  No  more  than  the  captain  of  a 
ship-of-war  is  the  only  officer  on  her  deck,  was  the  minister  to  be 
the  only  man  in  his  parish  clothed  with  ecclesiastical  authority  ;  he 
was  to  be  aided,  supported,  and  surrounded  by  a  staff  of  officers, 
a  band  of  efficient  elders  and  deacons;  and  as  our  ancestors 
thought  that  a  minister  had  charge  enough  who  had  in  his  parish 
a  thousand  people,  they  thought  an  elder  had  charge  enough  who 
had  in  his  district  some  ten  or  twenty  families.  They  never 
dreamt  of  such  a  state  of  things  as  we  have  in  our  days  in  Scot- 
land now.  I  can  point  to  districts  with  the  population  of  a  par- 
ish, and  parishes  with  the  population  of  a  county.  Nor  in  the 
good  and  olden  time  did  the  elder  fill  a  merely  honorary  or  secu- 
lar office  ;  he  did  something  else,  and  something  better,  than 
stand  by  the  plate,  and  vote  in  Presbytery  and  General  Assem- 
bly.    He  visited  the  sick,  his  post  was  often  at  the  bed  of  death, 


THE    VALUE    OF    THE    ELDERSHIP.  139 

he  counselled  the  erring,  he  went  forth  to  the  wilderness  and 
brought  the  wanderer  back  to  the  fold,  and  was  at  once  a  father 
and  a  friend,  a  counsellor  and  a  comfort  to  the  families  of  his 
charge;  he  was  known  to  all  of  them,  and  all  of  them  were 
known  to  him;  his  name  was  a  household  word,  and  he  could 
tell  the  name  of  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  within  his  bounds ; 
and  frequently  discharging  offices  both  of  temporal  and  spiritual 
kindness,  he  thus  acquired,  within  his  small  and  manageable  lo- 
cality, a  moral  influence  that  was  omnipotent  for  good.  By  the 
smallness  of  the  district  the  duties  of  the  office  were  within  the 
compass  of  men  in  active  business,  and  as  they  could  be  done, 
they  were  done,  and^they  were  well  done  ;  while,  as  matters  stand 
at  present  in  many  parishes,  it  is  true,  in  respect  both  of  ministers 
and  elders,  that  their  duties  cannot  be  any  thing  like  well  done, 
and  therefore  they  are  in  all  cases  imperfectly  done,  and  in  some 
not  done  at  all.  The  beast  lies  down  under  its  burden,  and  so 
does  the  man.  I  defy  any  minister  holding  a  city  charge  in 
Edinburgh  to  do  one-half,  one-third  his  work,  as  it  should  be 
done  ;  you  may  as  well  set  a  solitary  man  to  reap  the  broad  acres 
of  a  whole  farm  ;  and  in  such  circumstances,  there  is  felt  a  strong 
temptation  to  yield  to  despair,  and  to  do  little  or  nothing  at  all. 

"Our  present  undertaking  is  intended  to  remedy  these  evils. 
We  wish  from  its  ruins  to  rebuild  the  ancient  economy,  and  to 
restore  what  is  not  to  be  found  now-a-days  in  any  burgh  in  all 
broad  Scotland — a  manageable  parish,  split  up  into  districts, 
each  containing  ten  or  twenty  families,  with  the  Gospel  of  its 
parish  church  as  free  as  the  water  of  its  parish  well,  with  a  school 
where  the  children  of  the  poorest  may  receive  at  least  a  Bible 
education,  and  with  its  minister,  its  elders,  and  its  deacons,  each 
in  the  active  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  own  department. 
Such  is  the  machinery  that,  before  many  weeks  are  gone,  we 
trust  to  see  in  beautiful  and  blessed  operation  in  the  parish  of 
St.  John's.  And  what  good,  it  may  be  asked,  do  we  expect  to 
follow?  No  good  at  all,  unless  God  give  the  blessing.  Besides 
the  machinery  we  must  have  the  moving  power  ;  but  if  He  smile 
upon  our  labors,  we  enter  the  field  confident  of  victory.  What 
this  system  has  done  in  former  days  it  can  do  again ;  and  we 
have  no  fear,  though  the  eyes  of  enemies  should  look  on,  for  we 


140  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  ELDERSHIP. 

are  trying  no  novel,  never-before-tried  experiment.  Our  fathers 
tried  it,  and  they  triumphed  in  the  trial ;  and  with  the  same  seed, 
the  same  sun,  and  the  same  soil,  should  not  the  same  cultivation 
produce  as  abundant  a  harvest?  The  very  fields  that  are  now, 
alas !  run  rank  with  weeds,  blossomed,  and  bore  their  fruit,  like 
a  garden  of  the  Lord.  From  the  cavils  of  some,  and  the  fears 
of  others,  we  take  our  appeal  to  history ;  what  is  chronicled  in 
its  pages,  of  our  country,  when  tJie  parochial  economy  was  in 
full  and  blessed  operation  ?  Kirkton  tells  us  that  you  might  have 
travelled  many  a  mile  and  never  heard  an  oath;  that  there  was 
hardly  a  household  to  be  found  without  its  household  altar ;  and 
that  the  only  party  who  complained  were  the  taverners,  and  their 
complaint  was,  that  their  trade  was  broken — men  were  turned  so 
sober.  The  testimonjf  of  De  Foe  is  to  the  same  effect,  and  not 
less  remarkable.  He  tells  us,  that  a  blind  beggar  on  his  way  to 
Scotland  could  know  when  he  crossed  the  border,  by  the  total 
absence  of  oaths  and  profanity  in  the  language  of  the  people  ; 
and  down  in  these  lanes,  which  are  now  the  haunts  of  misery 
and  crime,  there  are  still  vestiges  to  be  found  of  the  prevailing 
religion  of  other  days ;  above  many  of  their  doorways  one  can 
still  decipher  a  text  of  Scripture ;  and  now,  in  those  houses  where 
it  stands  carved  in  stone  by  the  piety  of  our  ancestors,  you  may 
ascend,  as  I  have  often  done,  from  the  cellar  to  the  garret,  and, 
amid  all  the  families  that  crowd  the  tenement,  you  will  hardly 
find  one  Bible,  one  communicant,  one  solitary  person  that  fre- 
quents the  house  of  God.  When  we  think  of  those  who  once 
inhabited  these  dwellings,  and  how  the  prayer  and  the  psalm 
were  once  heard  where  debauchery  now  holds  her  riot,  and 
where,  on  the  very  Sabbath-day,  I  have  been  compelled  to  cease 
my  prayer,  because,  from  a  neighboring  apartment,  the  sound  of 
blows,  the  curses  of  men,  and  the  screams  of  women,  and  the 
cries  of  murder  have  drowned  my  voice  ; — when  we  think  of  this 
melancholy  contrast,  who  can  help  exclaiming,  '  How  is  the 
gold  become  dim,  the  most  fine  gold,  how  is  it  perished  !'  I 
know  there  are  men  who  have  said  that  such  cases  are  hopeless, 
who  would  thwart  us  if  they  could,  and  having  laughed  in  un- 
godly scorn  at  the  idea  of  building  churches  for  these  unhappy 
victims  of  their  country's  neglect,  would  hand  them  over  to  the 


THE    VALUE    OF    THE    ELDERSHIP.  141 

tender  mercies  of  the  policeman  and  the  jailer.  Hopeless!  I 
deny  that  the  case  is  hopeless,  or  the  disease  beyond  the  remedy. 
*Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead  ?  is  there  no  physician  there?' 
*  Behold/  says  God,  in  answer  to  these  unbelieving  and  paralyz- 
ing fears,  *  behold,  the  Lord's  hand  is  not  shortened  that  it  cannot 
save ;  neither  is  his  ear  heavy  that  it  cannot  hear.'  From  what 
difficulties  should  they  shrink  who  have  such  promises  as  these 
to  fall  back  and  rest  on  :  'What  art  thou,  O  great  mountain? 
before  Zerubbabel  thou  shalt  become  a  plain  ;'  '  Fear  not,  thou 
worm  Jacob,  and  ye  men  of  Israel,  I  will  help  thee,  sailh  the 
Lord  ;  thou  shalt  thresh  the  mountains,  and  beat  them  small,  and 
shalt  make  the  hills  as  chaff.  Thou  shalt  fan  them,  and  the  winds 
shall  carry  them  away,  and  the  whirlwind  shall  scatter  them  ! 
and  thou  shalt  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  thou  shalt  glory  in  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel  ?'  You  may  take  a  man  to  yon  infirmary,  and 
they  may  send  him  from  their  wards  as  incurable;  you  may  take 
a  man  to  a  lunatic  asylum,  and  they  may  give  him  over  as  a  hope- 
less madman;  the  disease  of  the  body  and  the  delirium  of  the 
head  may  baffle  the  skill  of  man;  but  that  man  never  walked 
this  world  whom  God's  gospel,  with  God's  blessing,  could  not 
cure  and  convert ;  and  we  say,  what  an  open  church,  and  an 
open  school,  and  a  manageable  parish,  with  its  minister  and  mul- 
tiplied elders,  have,  with  God's  blessing,  done  before,  with  the 
same  blessing  they  can  do  again." 


APPENDIX. 

ON  THE  USE  OF  THE  TITLE  BISHOP. 

The  word  bishop,  we  have  seen,  is  employed  in  the  New 
Testament  synonymously  with  the  term  presbyter,  as  the  special 
title  or  designation  of  that  officer  in  the  church  whose  duty  it  is 
to  oversee,  superintend,  preside,  preach,  and  administer  the  sa- 
craments and  discipline  of  the  church.  Other  terms  are  em- 
ployed for  the  same  purpose,  such  as  pastor,  minister,  angel,  am- 
bassador, and  steward,  but  these  two,  viz.,  presbyter  and  bishop, 
are  more  frequently  employed,  and  especially  when  the  qualifica- 
tions and  duties  of  the  office  are  distinctly  pointed  out. 

When  the  apostles  went  about  settling  and  completely  organ- 
izing the  churches,  they  ordained  presbyters  in  every  city.  (Acts 
14:  23.)  When  Paul  took  his  final  leave  of  the  Ephesian 
Christians  he  called  together  their  presbyters,  whom  he  also  de- 
nominates bishops,  and  whose  office  he  clearly  identifies  with 
that  of  the  preacher.  (Acts  20  :  17,  &c.)  When  Paul  writes 
to  the  church  at  Philippi,  A.  D.  62  or  63,  he  addresses  himself 
only  to  the  bishops  and  deacons.  (Phil.  1:1.)  When  Peter 
addresses  all  the  churches  in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia, 
and  Bithynia,  he  exhorts  only  the  presbyters  that  are  among 
them.  (1  Peter  5:  1,2.)  And  in  all  the  passages  in  which 
full  and  explicit  delineations  are  given  of  the  nature  and  qualifi- 
cations of  the  ministry,  the  word  bishop  is  employed.  (See 
1  Tim.  3  :  1-8,  Titus  1  :  5-9,  &  1  Peter  5  :  1-5.)  In  the  se- 
cond of  these  passages,  (Titus  1  :  5-9,)  the  term  presbyter 
and  the  term  bishop  are  both  employed,  and  the  officer  denoted 
bv  them  is  clearly  identified  as  an  instructor  in  the  faith. 


144  APPENDIX. 

Both  these  terms,  though  very  similar  in  meaning,  are  used 
to  designate  the  ministry,  because  the  one — puesbyter — was 
familiar  to  the  Jews,  and  not  known  among  the  other  nations, 
and  because  the  other — bishop — was  familiar  among  the  other 
nations,  and  not  common  among  the  Jews.  And  as  most  of  the 
first  Christian  churches  were  composed  of  both  converted  Jews  and 
Gentiles,  it  was  important  to  use  both  titles  for  their  teachers. 

In  the  Septuagint  or  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament, 
the  term  bishop  is  very  frequently  employed  to  designate  the 
office  of  overseer  in  a  sense  analogous  to  that  in  which  it  is  em- 
ployed in  the  New  Testament.  (Neh.  2:9,  14 :  22 ;  Numb. 
4  :  16  ;  2  Kings  34  :  12,  17.)  The  corresponding  term  "  shep- 
herds" is  the  common  title  given  in  the  Old  Testament  to  the 
doctors  of  the  people  and  to  the  prophets.  (Zech.  2  :  8,  &/C.) 
And  it  is  expressly  declared  that  the  officers  of  the  church, 
in  the  New  Testament  church,  should  be  known  by  this 
title,  (Isa.  60:  ]7,)  "I  will  make  thy  officers  (in  the  Greek 
episcopi,  or  bishops)  peace."  (See  also  Psalms  69  :  25,  com- 
pared with  Acts  I  :  20.)  This  very  passage  Clemens,  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthian  church,  quotes  in  confirmation  of  his 
view  of  the  officers  of  the  church.  We  will  only  add,  as  has 
been  already  fully  shown,  that  in  the  Jewish  synagogue  the 
title  of  bishop  or  its  cognate  terras,  chazan,  angel,  &c.,  were 
given  exclusivdy  to  the  minister  who  presided,  and  who  had 
the  charge  of  preaching  also. 

And  while  it  is  thus  manifest  that  both  these  titles  were 
adopted  by  the  apostolic  churches,  it  is  beyond  controversy  that 
they  came  to  be  the  established  names  by  which  ministers  were 
known  in  the  period  succeeding  the  apostolic  age.  No  other 
words,  except  when  they  speak  figuratively  in  order  to  vary  their 
language,  are  found  in  the  apostolic  fathers,  nor  are  these 
titles  used  by  them  in  any  other  than  their  original  synonymous 
application  to  those  who  occupied  the  pastoral  office.  This  I  have 
fully  proved  elsewhere,  and  in  part  also  in  this  volume.  Neither 
can  any  man  tell  when,  or  why,  the  title  of  bishop  came  to  be 
exclusively  appropriated  to  an  order  of  ministers  higher  than 
presbyters,  and  having  supreme  authority  over  them.  That  the 
terms  presbyter   and  bishop   are  the  same,  and   applied  only  to 


APPENDIX.  145 

one  and  the  same  office  in  Scripture,  all  prelatists  have  been 
constrained  to  admit.  And  that  there  was  a  gradual  change  in 
the  use  of  these  words,  until  at  length  the  term  bishop  was  limited 
to  the  order  of  prelates,  they  also  admit ;  but  when  or  why  this 
change  was  introduced  they  cannot,  because  the?/ will vot,  teW.  The 
truth  is,  as  has  been  seen,  that  one  of  the  presbyters  or  bishops 
being  necessarily  appointed — as  is  the  case  now  among  all  Pres- 
byterians— president  or  moderator  of  the  body  of  presbyters, 
who  watched  over  the  interests  of  a  whole  neighborhood,  and 
who,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  then  lived  together,  it  be- 
came necessary  to  call  him  by  some  distinctive  name.  The 
apostles  called  this  officer  "the  presiding  presbyter,"  (1  Tim.  5  : 
17,)  but  as  there  were  two  principal  titles  for  the  ministry,  it 
came  afterwards  to  be  the  custom  to  call  this  "  presiding  pres- 
byter," by  way  of  brevity,  "the  bishop,"  and  the  others  "the 
PRESBYTERS."  And  as  many  things  then  conspired  to  throw 
power  and  influence  into  the  hands  ot'  this  president,  who  was 
chosen  for  life,  the  application  to  him  of  the  term  "  the  bishop," 
came  to  be  fixed,  until  at  length  it  was  regarded  as  indicating 
those  prerogatives  of  authority  and  power  which  circumstances 
had  attributed  to  his  office.  Thus  was  the  higher  order  of 
prelatical  bishops  gradually  introduced,  with  all  the  pride, 
ambition,  and  growing  corruption,  both  in  doctrine  and  in 
practice,  to  which  the  prelatical  system  has  given  birth. 

This  view  of  the  primitive  order  of  the  church,  will  at  once 
account  for  all  subsequent  changes ;  meet  all  the  difficulties  of 
the  case ;  and  resolve  all  the  problems  which  are  proposed. 
Thus,  when  prelatists  draw  out  their  lists  and  catalogues  of  suc- 
cessive bishops,  in  the  several  apostolic  churches,  we  find  them 
at  once,  so  far  as  they  are  credible,  in  these  presidents,  who 
would  naturally  constitute  the  individual  representatives  of 
their  brethren  and  contemporaries.  In  later  times,  when  there 
were  several  congregations  in  the  same  presbytery,  the  presi- 
dent was  made  pastor  of  the  ccclesia  'principalis ,  the  avdsvTix?] 
xa&Edgct,  which  was  idiog  dgovoq,  his  peculiar  throne,  and  thus 
would  he  in  every  way  shine  forth  among  the  other  stars,  as 
the  most  eminent  and  brilliant.  But,  even  then,  these  presi- 
dents were  eminent  only  as  the  first  in  rank  among  their  col- 

P 


146  APPENDIX. 

leagues  in  the  same  order  and  office,  just  as  were  archdeacons 
among  the  deacons,  archpresbyters  among  the  presbyters,  arch- 
bishops among  the  bishops,  and  patriarchs  among  the  arch- 
bishops. Thus,  also,  among  the  archontes  at  Athens,  while  all 
were  equal  in  power,  yet  was  one  called  archon,  by  way  of 
eminence.  His  name  alone  was  inserted  in  the  public  records 
of  that  year,  which  was  reckoned  from  him.  And  so  also,  was 
it  among  the  five  ephori  at  Sparta,  of  whom,  in  like  manner,  one 
was  chosen  as  president,  and  actually  denominated  ngo^cnbig,  as 
Plutarch  informs  us.  So  that  a  succession  of  single  persons 
named  above  the  rest  in  the  apostolic  churches,  would  never 
prove  that  they  were  any  other  than  what  we  have  described — 
the  ngoEdZMTsg  or  presidents  of  the  churches — especially  as  this 
title  is  given  to  presbyters  as  well  as  bishops,  even  by  Cyprian 
himself. 

Again,  when  prelatists  taunt  us  with  the  evident  existence 
of  diocesan  prelacy  at  an  early  period,  we  find  its  origin  in  the 
corruption  and  abuse  of  this  apostolic  presbyterianism,  or  paro- 
chial episcopacy.  "  For,"  says  the  learned  Whitaker,  the  dar- 
lino-  of  the  Church  of  England,  "  as  at  the  first  one  presbyter 
was  set  over  the  rest  of  the  presbyters  and  made  a  bishop ;  so 
afterwards  one  bishop  was  set  over  the  rest  of  the  bishops.  And 
thus  that  custom  hatched  the  pope  with  his  monarchy,  and  by 
degrees  brought  him  into  the  church." 

Such  also  is  the  opinion  of  Vitringa,  who  says:'  *'  From  such 
acts  of  communion,  there  were  derived,  in  course  of  time,  titles 
and  dignities  altogether  unknown  in  the  early  ages  of  the  church 
for  instance,  it  was  necessary  that  some  bishop  should  sum- 
mon the  council,  that  some  bishop  should  preside,  and  as  the 
presidents  of  the  presbyteries  had  before  this  assumed  to  them- 
selves authority,  had  taken  exclusively  the  title  of  bishop,  and 
thus  came  to  be  looked  on  as  a  distinct  order  from  their  presby- 
teries ;  just  so,  the  presidents  of  these  councils  arrogated  much  to 

1  De  Vet.  Synag.  Part  II.  ch,  iii.  in  Bernard's  Synagogue,  pp.  155,  156. 
See,  also,  pp.  178,  179,  214,  and  229,  where  he  shows  how  other  similar  errors 
crept  in.  Dr.  Hinds  traces  these  offices  to  the  same  origin.  Hist,  of  Rise  and 
Progress  of  Christianity,  voL  i.  p.  .S45. 


APPENDIX.  147 

themselves,  assumed   a  hi^rher  rank  and  office;  and  hence,  the 
titles  of  archbishop,  metropolitan,  primate,  patriarch,  &c," 

Thus  it  came  to  pass,  that  the  title  of  bishop  was  associated 
with  all  the  pride,  pomp,  ambition,  tyranny,  licentiousness,  un- 
godliness, and  infamy  of  men  who  never,  or  very  seldom,  preach- 
ed at  all,  and  whose  only  business  it  was  to  lord  it  over  God's 
heritage,  and  to  live  in  pomp  and  luxury,  from  the  taxes  imposed 
upon  the  enslaved  and  superstitious  church.  The  very  title  of 
bishop  therefore  came  to  be  identified  with  these  enormities, 
and  to  be  a  hissing  and  a  by-word  in  the  mouth  of  all  men.  And 
when,  therefore,  the  enormous  mass  of  Romish  corruptions  was 
thrown  ofT  the  almost  smothered  church,  at  the  reformation, 
and  the  reformers  endeavored  to  cleanse  the  Augean  stable  and 
to  restore  the  primitive  purity  and  simplicity  of  Christ's  church, 
they  abstained  for  a  time  from  the  use  of  this  abominated  title 
of  bishop,  in  order  to  do  away  the  powerful  association  by 
which  it  was  connected  with  all  that  was  hateful  and  fearful. 
It  is  not,  however,  true,  as  some  imagine,  that  they  rejected  the 
term,  or  were  at  all  blind  to  its  true  and  Scriptural  meaning. 
On  the  contrary,  they  every  where  bring  to  light  the  Scriptural 
meaning  and  use  of  the  word  in  all  their  standards  and  confes- 
sions ;  and  every  where  contended  for  it  as  the  true,  proper,  anS 
only  signification.  This  fact  will  not,  and  cannot  be  denied, 
since  this  demonstration  of  the  original  parity  of  the  ministry 
constituted  one  of  the  very  first  towers  of  impregnable  defence, 
into  which  the  reformers  betook  themselves,  and  from  which 
they  could  not  be,  and  were  not,  dislodged. 

Thus  Milton,  speaking  of  the  Presbyterian  form,  says  :  "  It  is 
but  episcopacy  reduced  to  what  it  should  be,  and  were  it  not  that 
the  tyranny  of  prelates,  under  the  name  of  bishops,  had  made  our 
ears  tender  and  startling,  we  might  call  every  good  minister  a 
bishop.'" 

The  Helvetic  Confession  thus  speaks :  ''  Therefore  the 
church  ministers  that  now  are  may  be  called  bishops,  elders,  (or 
presbyters,)  pastors  and  doctors."^ 

1  Prose  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  52.  See,  also,  pp.  9,  14.  See,  also,  Lord  Brooke 
on  Episcopacy.  London,  1642,  p.  2. 

2  Harmony  of  Confessions,  pp.  234,  2.35. 


148  APPENDIX. 

"Whereas,"  says  Calvin,  *'  I  have  indiscriminately  called  those 
who  govern  the  churches,  bishops,  presbyters,  and  pastors,  I  have 
done  so  according  to  the  usage  of  Scripture,  for  whoever  exe- 
cutes the  office  of  minister  of  the  gospel,  to  them  the  Scriptures 
give  the  title  of  bishops."^ 

There  are  four  ordinary  functions  or  offices  in  the  Kirk  of 
God,"  says  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline  of  1578,  "the  office 
of  the  pastor,  minister  or  bishop,"  &c.  (Ch.  ii.  §  6.)  This 
it  repeats  in  the  chapter  concerning  them,  (Ch.  iv.  §  1,)  where  it 
says  they  "are  sometimes  called  episcopi  or  bishops,  because 
they  watch  over  the  flock."  And  they  add  this  solemn  advice 
to  the  several  officers:  "  All  these  should  take  those  titles  and 
names  only  (leist  they  be  exalted  and  puft  up  in  themselves) 
which  the  Scripture  gives  unto  them,  as  these  import  labor, 
travell  and  work."  (Ch.  iii.  §  7.) 

"There  are,"  said  Adamson,  in  the  General  Assembly  of 
1572,  "  three  sorts  of  bishops  ;  my  Lord  bishop  ;  my  Lord's  bish- 
op ;  and  the  Lord's  bishop.  My  Lord  bishop  was  in  the  papis- 
trie.  My  Lord's  bishop  is  now  when  my  Lord  gets  the  benefice, 
and  the  bishop  serves  for  nothing  but  to  make  his  title  sure  ;  and 
the  Lord's  bishop  is  the  true  minister  of  the  gospel."^ 

Again,  in  1576,  the  General  Assembly  decided  that  "  the 
name  of  bishop  is  common  to  all  who  are  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  a  particular  flock,  in  preaching  the  word,  administer- 
inor  the  sacraments,  and  exercising  discipline  with  the  consent 
of  the  elders."  This  was  in  the  days  of  Knox  and  Melville. 
y\nd  Caldervvood  says  :  "  The  Pastor  can  see  no  Lord-bishop  in 
Scripture  but  the  Lord's  bishop  only, — a  name  of  labor  and  dil- 
igence, and  not  of  honor  and  ease."^ 

So  much  for  the  Church  of  Scotland  ;  and  as  it  regards  the 
Church  of  England,  a  candid  Episcopalian  writer  says  :  "  It  was 
the  judgment  of  her  founders,  (that  is,  of  the  Church  of  England,) 
PERHAPS  UNANIMOUSLY,  but  at  all  events  generally,  that  the  bishop 
of  the  primitive  church  was  merely  a  presiding  elder  ;  a  pres- 

^  Comment,  on  Titus  1:5. 

^  See  similar  views  of,  in  a  sermon  as  quoted  by  Jameson  in  Fundamentals 
of  the  Hierarchy,  p.  55. 

3  The  Pastor  and  Prelate.  1628,  pp.  2,  3. 


APPENDIX.  149 

byter  ruling  over  presbyters  ;  identical  in  order  and  commission  ; 
superior  only  in  degree  and  authority.'"  But  for  the  full  quo- 
tations on  this  point,  I  refer  the  reader  elsewhere. '^  We  will 
only  here  say,  that  in  the  ''Declaration  of  the  Functions  of  Bish- 
ops and  Priests,  &C.3"  it  is  said  :  *'  Yet  the  truth  is,  that  in  the 
New  Testament  there  is  no  mention  made  of  any  degrees  or 
distinctions  in  orders,  but  only  of  deacons  or  ministers,  and  of 
priests  (presbyters)  or  bishops."  And  to  this  opinion  these 
English  reformers  were  more  readily  led,  because  it  was  the 
unanimous  judgment  of  the  Canonists  and  Schoolmen  as  well  as 
of  many  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Fathers.  Thus  one 
of  the  Decretals  collected  by  Pope  Gregory  IX.  was:  "We 
call  the  Diaconate  and  the  Episcopate  sacred  orders,  be- 
cause the  primitive  church  is  recorded  to  have  held  these  alone. "^ 
And  the  Council  of  Trent  itself  was  forced  to  allow  that  "  the 
name  and  title  of  bishop  was  common  to  both"  bishops  and 
presbyters.^ 

The  Divines  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  were  very  full 
and  explicit  on  this  subject.  In  their  debates  on  1  Tim.  5  :  17, 
as  referring  to  ruling  elders,  Mr.  Palmer  argued  that  the  passage 
could  not  refer  to  two  sorts  of  officers,  otherwise  it  would  imply 
"  two  sorts  of  bishops,"  which  was  thought  to  be  a  sufficient  ab- 
surdity at  once  to  overthrow  such  an  interpretation.  But  had 
he  only  enjoyed  a  little  of  our  ''new  light,"  he  would  at  once 
doubtless  have  perceived  that  our  ruling  elders  are  and  must  be 
bishops,  and  that  therefore  the  passage  must  refer  to  them.^ 

The  authors  of  Smectymnuus,  written  in  A.  D.  1641,  by  five 
of  the  most  influential  members  of  the  Assembly,  viz.  Messrs. 
Marshall,  Calamy,  Young,  Newcomen,  and  Sparstow,  prove  at 
length  that  it  is  of  great  importance  to  resume  the  familiar  use  of 
the  term  bishop.  They  say,^  "Whether  it  befit  that  the  name 
bishop,  which  in  Scripture  is  common  to  the  presbyters  with  the 
bishops,  (and  not  only  in  Scripture,  but  also  in  antiquity  for  some 

'  Essays  on  the  Church,  p.  251. 

2  See  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,  p.  429,  &c.  ^  jb^j   p  409^  ^q, 

4  Reynoldson,in  Boyce,  Anc't  Episcop,  p.  17. 

^  Lightfoot's  Works,  vol.  xiii.  p.  75 ;  also  pp.  43,  46,  51,  and  54. 

«  See  pp.  91-93. 


150  APPENDIX. 

hundreds  of  years,)  should  still  be  appropriated  to  Bishops,  and 
ingrossed  by  them,  and  not  rather  to  be  made  common  to  all 
Presbyters;  and  the  rather,  because,  first  wefinde  by  wofull  ex- 
perience, that  the  great  Equivocation  that  lyeth  in  the  name  Bish- 
op, HATH  BEENE,  AND  IS  AT  THIS  DAY  A  GREAT  PROP  AND  PIL- 
LAR TO   UPHOLD    Lordly    Prelacy,    for    this  is  the  great 

GOLIAH,  THE  master-piece,  AND  INDEED  THE  ONLY  ARGU- 
MENT   WITH    WHICH      THEY    THINKE    TO    SILENCE    ALL      OPPOSERS. 

To  wit,  the  antiquitie  of  Episcopacie,  that  it  hath  continued  in 
the  church  of  Christ  for  1500  yeares,  &,c.,  which  argument  is 
cited  by  this  Remonstrant  ad  nauseum  iisque  et  usque.  Now 
it  is  evident  that  this  argument  is  a  Paralogismc,  depending  up- 
on the  Equivocation  of  the  name  Bishop.  For  Bishops  in  the 
apostles'  times  were  the  same  with  Presbyters  in  name  and  office, 
and  so  for  a  good  while  after.  And  when,  afterwards,  they  came 
to  be  distinguished,  the  Bishops  of  the  Primitive  times  differed  as 
much  from  ours  now,  as  Rome  ancient  from  Rome  at  this  day,  as 
hath  been  suflSciently   declared   in  this  Booke.     And  the  best 

WAY  to  confute  THIS  ARGUMENT  IS  BY  BRINGING  IN  A  COMMU- 
NITY OF  THE    NAME    BiSHOP  TO    A  PrESBYTER  AS    WELL  AS    TO    A 

Bishop. 

"Secondly,  because  wee  finde  that  the  late  Innovators  which 
have  so  much  disturbed  the  peace  and  purity  of  our  church,  did 
first  begin  with  the  alteration  of  words  ;  and  by  changing  the 
word  Table  into  the  word  Altar  ;  and  the  word  Minister  into  the 
word  Priest ;  and  the  word  Sacrament  into  the  word  Sacrifice, 
have  endeavored  to  bring  in  the  Popish  Masse.  And  the  apostle 
exhorts  us,  2  Tim.  1  :  13,  to  holdfast  the  forme  of  sound  words  : 
and  I  Tim.  6  :  20,  to  avoid  the  profane  novelties  of  words.  Upon 
which  text  we  will  only  mention  what  the  Rhemists  have  com- 
mented, which  we  conceive  to  be  worthy  consideration,  (Nam 
instruunt  nos  non  solum  docentes,  sed  etiam  errantes.)  The 
church  of  God  hath  always  beene  as  diligent  to  resist  novelties 
of  words,  as  her  adversaries  are  busie  to  invent  them,  for  which 
cause  she  will  not  have  us  communicate  with  them,  nor  follow 
their  fashions  and  phrase  newly  invented,  though  in  the  nature 
of  the  words  sometimes  there  be  no  harme.     Let  us  keepe  our 


appendix.  151 

forefathers'  words,  and  we  shall  easily  keepe  our  old 
and  true  faith,  that  we  had  op  the  first  christians  !" 

The  sentiments  of  these  divines  may  be  further  learned  from 
a  judgment  given  by  the  British  Parliament  in  1645,  which  we 
take  from  a  publication  entitled  "  An  Ordinance  of  the  Lord's 
and  Commons  assembled  in  Parliament,  &c.  London,  1645,  4to. 
"  Whereas,"  they  say,  "  the  word  presbyter,  that  is  to  say,  eld- 
er, and  the  word  bishop,  do  in  the  Scripture  intend  and  signify  one 
and  the  same  function,  although  the  title  of  bishop  hath  been  by 
corrupt  custom  appropriated  to  one,  and  that  unto  him  ascribed, 
and  by  him  assumed,  as  in  other  things,  so  in  the  matter  of  ordi- 
nation, that  was  not  meet :  which  ordination,  notwithstanding,  be- 
ing performed  by  him,  a  Presbyter  joined  with  other  Presbyters, 
we  hold  for  substance  to  be  valid,  and  not  to  be  disclaimed  by 
any  that  have  received  it ;  and  that  Presbyters  so  ordained,  be- 
ing lawfully  thereunto  appointed  and  authorized,  may  ordain 
other  Presbyters,"  &c. 

Other  testimonies  might  be  adduced,  but  it  is  unnecessary. 
The  views  of  Baxter  and  Lazarus  Seaman  have  been  adduced.' 
Owen  is  very  strong :  "  For  the  right  and  duty  of  rule  is,"  says  he, 
"  inseparable  from  the  office  of  elders,  which  all  bishops  or  pas- 
tors ARE."  ''  Some  there  are,"  he  adds,  "  who  begin  to  main- 
tain that  there  is  no  need  of  any  more  but  one  pastor,  bishop  or 
elder,  in  a  particular  church,  other  elders  (whom  he  elsewhere 
calls  assistants)  for  to  rule  being  unnecessary."^ 

Milton  will  also  represent  the  opinions  of  his  time.  In  his 
Treatise  of  Christian  Doctrine,  he  says  :^  "The  ordinary  minis- 
ters of  a  particular  church  are  presbyters  and  deacons.  Pres- 
byters are  otherwise  called  bishops bishops 

and  presbyters  must  therefore  have  been  the  same." 

Elsewhere  he  says  :  '^  Bishops  and  presbyters  are  the  same  to 

^  See  Baxter  on  Episcop.  ch.  iii.  pp.  11,  12,  156  ;  Pt.  ii.  p.  5  ;  and  Disput. 
on  Ch.  Gov.  218. 

2  Works,  vol.  XX.  pp.  478, 480,  481.  See,  also,  Lord  Brooke  on  Episcopacy, 
p.  2  ;  Professor  Jameson's  Fundamentals  of  the  Hierarchy,  pp.  55  and  213  ; 
Dr.  Alexander's  Hist,  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  p.  88  ;  Jameson's  History 
of  the  Culdees,  pp,  330-332. 

3  Vol.  ii.  pp.  180,  181. 


153  APPENDIX. 

US  both  in  name  and  thing."  ^  "  It  will  not  be  denied  that  in  the 
Gospel  there  be  but  two  ministerial  degrees,  presbyters  and  dea- 
cons."- ''  Through  all  which  book  can  be  nowhere,  either  by 
plain  text  or  solid  reasoning,  found  any  difference  between  a 
bishop  and  a  presbyter,  save  that  they  be  two  names  to  signify 
the  same  order."  ^  "  A  bishop  and  presbyter  is  all  one  both  in 
name  and  office."* 

The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  then  is,  that  among  all 
the  reformed  churches  there  v/as  at  first  undivided  agreement  in 
the  opinion  that  the  title  of  bishop  belonged  to  presbyters  or  min- 
isters. They  also  did  in  fact  so  apply  it  in  all  their  official  doc- 
uments and  standards,  and  in  all  their  arguments  with  Roman- 
ists and  prelatists.  The  term  bishop  therefore  is  the  official  title 
given  by  the  reformers  in  common  with  preshyter,  to  the  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel.  And  though,  for  the  reasons  we  have  given, 
the  common  use  of  this  term  in  every  day  parlance  was  not 
thought  expedient,  yet  we  have  seen  that  such  a  use  of  the  word 
was  plainly  desired  and  ultimately  expected,  and  its  importance 
fully  appreciated. 

And  since  the  obloquy  and  disgrace  then  commonly  attached  to 
the  very  term  bishop,  is  no  longer  associated  with  it ;  since  on  the 
contrary  it  is  now  connected  with  the  highest  office  for  dignity 
and  honor  in  a  large  branch  of  the  church;  and  since  the  very 
scripturality  of  the  name  is  made  a  ground  for  supporting  the 
scripturality  of  this  prelatical  office; — it  is  high  time  that  the 
public  mind  should  be  disabused,  and  the  true  nature  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  be  held  up  to  the  public  view  by  appropriating  to 
it  the  name  and  title  which  were  given  to  it  by  its  great  founder. 

So  thought  the  framers  of  our  standards.     I  do  not  recollect, 
nor  can  I  find,  any  passage  (except  that  in  which  all  the  various 
names  of  the  ministry  are  given,  with  their  explanations,  Form 
of  Government,  chap,  iv.)  in  which   ministers  are  CdWed  preshy 
ters.      The  word  is  certainly  not  used  in  the  whole  of  our  Confes- 


*  Speech  for  the  Liberty  of  Unlicensed  Printing,  Prose  Works,  i.  314. 
^  Likeliest  Means  to  remove  Hirelings,  &l,c.  iii.  356. 
^  Of  Prelatical  Episcopacy,  i.  60. 
4  Ibid.  75.     See,  also,  page  76. 


APPENDIX.  153 

sion  of  Faith,  but  only  the  term  minister.  (See  chap.  xxv.  §  3  ; 
chap,  xxvii.  §  5;  chap,  xxviii.  §  2.)  Neither  is  it  employed  in 
the  Larger  Catechism,  (see  Questions  108,  150,  169,)  nor  in  our 
other  standards,  so  far  as  I  have  remarked. 

The  term  most  frequently  employed  in  our  standards  to  char- 
acterize the  ministry  is  the  word  minister.  (Conf  of  Faith  as 
above;  Form  of  Government,  chap.  i.  §  2  ;  chap.  ix.  <5>  4 ;  chap. 
X.  §  7,  8  ;  chap.  xv.  2;  chap.  xxii.  3.) 

The  word  teacher  is  also  once  used  as  a  general  term  for 
ministers.     (Form  of  Government,  Introduction,  §  5.) 

The  term^as^or  is  also,  in  a  very  few  cases,  used  in  reference 
to  the  charge  of  a  particular  flock.  (Form  of  Government,  chap. 
ix.  §  1,  and  chap.  xv.  §  1.)  But  this  word  "  pastor"  is  not  the 
term,  as  is  supposed,  most  frequently  applied  to  the  settled  min- 
isters of  particular  churches.  The  term  minister  is  much  more 
frequently  applied  for  this  purpose.  (See  Form  of  Government, 
chap.  X.  §  2;  chap.  xiii.  §  4;  16  title,  and  sections  2,  3;  Di- 
rectory, chap.  ii.  §  2 ;  chap.  iii.  §  3 ;  chap.  v.  §  4  ;  chap.  vi.  <5  I  ; 
chap,  xii.,  &c. 

And  now  as  to  the  term  bishop.  In  the  very  first  place  in 
which  our  Book  defines  particularly  and  carefully  the  officers 
of  the  church,  (Form  of  Government,  chap,  iii.,)  the  teachers  or 
ministers  are  expressly  denominated  "  bishops"  or  "  pastors,"  the 
twa  words  which  have  the  same  meaning  in  their  original  deriva- 
tion. The  term  bishop  is  here  used  for  ministers  universally, 
whether  they  are  in  charge  or  not,  and  whether  they  are  evangel- 
ists or  not,  just  as  it  was  used  by  the  prophets  to  signify  doctors 
who  had  no  particular  charge.  The  next  chapter  is  headed  "  Of 
Bishops  or  Pastors,"  (chap,  iv.,)  and  under  this  heading  the  term 
Presbyter  is  given,  as  the  fourth  term  applied  to  the  office,  while 
the  term  "  bishop"  is  also  used.  It  is  also  found  in  many  other 
places,  and  in  the  same  unliinited  sense.  It  is  not  confined  to  a 
minister  having  charge  of  a  fixed  congregation.  It  is  applied  to 
the  ministers  who  constitute  (with  the  elders,  who  are  carefully 
distinguished)  a  Synod;  (Form  of  Government,  chap.  xi.  §  1  ;) 
and  that  it  is  here  to  be  taken  in  its  unlimited  sense,  appears 
from  the  fact  that  in  section  second  it  is  interchanged  with  the 
term  "  minister'^     So  also  it  is  applied  to  the  members  of  the 

8* 


154  APPENDIX. 

General  Assembly,  (chap.  xii.  §  2,)  who  are  also  called  "  minis- 
ters," (Sections  2,  3  and  7) 

Again  in  chap.  xvi.  §  1,  which  is  headed  "  Of  the  translation 
or  removing  a  Minister  from  one  charge  to  another,"  it  is  said, 
'*  no  bishop  shall  be  translated,"  &c.  In  the  second  and  third  sec- 
tions it  goes  on  to  speak  of  these  same  "  bishops"  as  "  ministers." 

Again  in  our  Book  of  Discipline,  chap,  v.,  we  are  instructed  as 
to  "  Process  against  a  Bishop  or  Minister." 

In  a  note  to  chapter  iv.  of  the  Form  of  Government  it  is  ex- 
pressly thought,  that  "  as  the  office  and  character  of  the  Gospel 
Minister  is  particularly  and  fully  described  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures under  the  title  of  Bishop — and  as  the  term  is  peculiarly  ex- 
pressive of  his  duty  as  an  Overseer  of  the  flock,  it  ought  not  to  be 
rejected.'' 

This  judgment  of  our  church  we  believe  to  be  important, 
and  worthy  of  being  carried  out  into  practical  application  at  the 
present  time.  Romanism  and  prelacy  are  making  desperate  ef- 
forts to  sustain  the  divine  right  and  title  of  their  apostolical  suc- 
cession of"  bishops,"  with  all  its  consequent  claim  to  an  exclu- 
sive possession  of  the  marks  and  elements  and  grace  of  the  true 
church  of  Jesus  Christ.  Now  this  doctrine  we  believe  to  be  the 
mark  of  the  beast,  the  very  evidence  and  proof  of  Antichrist, 
and  the  blasphemy  of  the  foretold  usurper  who  should  sit  in  the 
temple  of  God  as  God,  and  arrogate  to  his  unchristian  system  of 
formalism  and  superstition  the  name,  title,  and  attributes  of  God's 
visible  church.  We  are  bound  therefore  to  contend  earnestly 
against  this  radical  error,  from  which  so  many  other  errors 
spring ;  and  by  laying  our  axe  to  the  root  of  the  tree,  most  cer- 
tainly destroy  its  baneful  and  destructive  growth. 

Now  to  our  mind  it  seems  clear  that  this  whole  pyramid  of  error 
took  its  rise  from  the  early  and  gradual  appropriation  of  i\\e  scrip- 
tural term  bishop  to  the  unscriptural  and  man-made  prelate. 
For  by  covering  himself  with  the  garb  and  character  of  God's  true 
ministry,  the  wolf  got  undiscovered  entrance  into  the  fold,  and 
remained  unobserved,  until  by  his  gradual  efforts  he  had  secured 
to  himself  power  and  might,  when  he  was  enabled  to  throw 
aside  his  sheep's  clothing  and  subject  the  simple-minded  and  un- 
thinking sheep  to  his  imperial  and  irresistible  sway.     And  by  the 


APPENDIX.  155 

very  same  process  by  which  the  wolf  got  into  the  fold,  is  he  to 
get  out.  Full  many  of  the  thoughtless  sheep  are  still  led  only 
by  outside  appearances,  and  are  therefore  satisfied  that  prelates 
are  what  they  pretend  to  be,  because  they  wear  God's  own  heaven- 
appointed  title,  undisputed  and  uncontradicted.  Names  are 
things.^  They  are  realities.  They  speak  louder  than  books 
or  refutations,  and  are  heard  by  those  who  cannot  and  who 
will  not  read.  And  from  our  own  efforts  to  find  out  the  truth 
in  the  case,  we  are  verily  of  opinion  that  three-fourths  even  of 
the  most  intelligent  prelatists  could  give  no  better  reason  for 
believing  in  their  *'  Bishop"  than  the  fact  that  he  is  a  bishop, 
and  that  the  Bible  most  assuredly  speaks  of  bishops. 

We  are  therefore  called  upon,  not  only  in  our  standards,  but 
in  our  oflicial  documents  and  daily  usage,  to  proclaim  abroad  and 
in  the  ears  of  all  men,  that  prelatical  bishops  are  deceivers  and 
impostors;  that  they  are  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing; — and  that 
they  are  the  thieves  of  whom  our  Saviour  speaks,  who  came  not 
in  by  the  door,  but  climbed  up  some  other  way  into  the  fold. 
They  are  they  who,  when  the  good  man  of  the  house  was  asleep, 
came  in  and  took  possession,  and  having  robbed  him  of  his/'  good 
name,"  turned  him  out  of  doors,  proclaimed  themselves  masters 
of  the  house,  and  then  proceeded  to  beat  the  Lord's  servants  and 
unmercifully  to  abuse  and  enslave  them  to  their  vile  ends  of  cor- 
ruption and  heresy. 

Such  a  common  and  familiar  use  of  the  term  bishop,  not  to 
the  exclusion  of  any  other,  but  in  interchange  with  them,  we 
are  under  obligation  to  adopt. 

It  is  due  to  God,  and  is  positively  required  at  our  hands. 
It  is  said  indeed,  that  because  the  term  bishop  has  been  so  long 
appropriated  in  this  way,'that  its  original  sense  would  not  be  un- 
derstood without  a  comment,  and  that  therefore,  ''to  avoid  the 
trouble,  let  our  ministers  be  called  by  that  name  by  which  they 
are  most  generally  known." 

Now  is  there  not  a  glaring  inconsistency  between  these  pre- 
mises and  this  conclusion  1  By  whom  is  this  appropriation  made? 

1  On  this  subject  sec  Coleridge's  Aids  to  Reflection,  p.  152,  Eng.  ed.,  and 
Taylor's  Ancient  Christianity,  vol.  i.  p.  74. 


156  APPENDIX. 

By  the  reformers  ?— No,  they  unanimously  rejected  it.     By  the 
framers  of  our  standards?— No,  I  have  shown  that  they  openly, 
and  loudly  and   constantly  protested  against  it.     By  the  church 
of  Scotland  ? — No,  I  have  given  proof  that  she  has  always  demand- 
ed and  is  now  reclaiming  this  too  much  disused  title.     By  the 
Congregationalists? — No,  they  too  are  now   contending  for  the 
truth  in  this  matter.     By  our  Baptist  friends? — No,  they  too  are 
restoring  the  word  to  its  proper  and  familiar  usage.     By  our  own 
church? — No,  in  her  published  records  you  find  her   ministers 
put  down  as  bishops — while  in  many  of  her  synods  and  presbyte- 
ries the  same  proper  custom  is  adopted.     This  robbery  then   is 
sanctioned  only  by  the  depredators — and  is  this  a  reason  for  al- 
lowing them  a  peaceful  possession  of  stolen  goods  ?     Surely  not. 
Have  we  a  W^AMo  allow  prel at ists  and  Romanists  this  peace- 
able appropriation  ?     I  trow  not.     This  is  not  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference, but  of  moment.     Did  not  the   Holy  Ghost  himself  ex- 
pressly make  and   denominate  presbyters  bishops  2     Is  not  this 
solemn  truth  more  than  once  distinctly  affirmed  in  Scripture? 
(See  Acts  20  :  28,  and  1  Peter  5:2.)  And  does  not  the  same  di- 
vine Spirit  every  where  in  the  Bible  use  the  term  bishop  and  the 
term  presbyter  for  one  and  the  same  ministry  ?     Have  we  then 
any  liberty  to  lai/  doion  or  to  disuse  this  title?  Have  we  any  pow- 
er to  allow  corrupters  of  God's  word  and  ordinances  to  appropri- 
ate this  title  to  diocesan  prelates — the  fruitful  source  of  all  ec- 
clesiastical evils?  Can  we,  as  Christians — as  Presbyterians — who 
are  set  for  the  defence  and  maintenance  of  the  truth,  give  place 
to  such  unhallowed  perversions  of  God's  Word,  and   abuse  of 
God's  Holy  Spirit? 

But  we  may  do  so,  it  is  said,  to  avoid  the  trouble  of  giving  a 
comment !  And  is  it  thus  we  act  in  reference  to  the  equally  ap- 
propriate claim  to  "  catholicity" — to  "  the  one  holy  and  apostol- 
ical church" — "the  true  church" — "penance" — "confession" 
— "  regeneration" — "  priest"~altar"— "  sacrifice"— and  many 
other  similar  things  ?  Is  it  not  the  glory  of  our  church  that 
she  is  A  PROTESTANT — that  is,  a  protesting — church,  continually 
bearing  her  testimony  for  all  that  is  truth,  and  against  all  that  is 
error — whether  men  will  hear,  or  whether  they  will  forbear  ?  Let 
us  then  for  God's  sake— for  the  truth's  sake — for  the  sake  of  a 


APPENDIX.  157 

pure  Bible,  and  church,  and  ministry,  and  worship — proclaim 
with  all  our  might  that  OUR  MINISTERS  ARE  the  true  scriptural 

BISHOPS,  i^AND  that  PRELATES  ARE  USURPERS  OF  A  TITLE  TO 
WHICH  THEY  HAVE  NO  ONE  SINGLE  CLAIM  OR  QUALIFICATION,  AC- 
CORDING TO    THE  SCRIPTURES. 

We  are  required  therefore  from  duty  to  God,  and  to  his  in- 
spired word,  and  to  our  belief  in  its  full  and  plenary  inspiration, 
and  the  designed  intention  with  which  it  has  ordained  all  that 
pertains  to  the  church  and  its  ministry,  to  retain,  and  use,  and 
glory  in  the  name  and  title  of  bishop  ;  and  to  contend  earnestly 
against  those  who  have  audaciously  set  themselves  in  opposition 
to  the  Lord  and  his  anointed  servants.  But  consistency  not  less 
than  duty  and  a  sense  of  justice,  demand  the  same  course.  We 
affirm  that  the  term  bishop  is  synonymous  with  the  term  minis- 
ter. So  thought  our  reformers,  and  so  teach  our  standards  eve- 
ry where.  And  yet  while  other  claimants  daily  and  constantly 
deny  our  teaching,  and  appropriate  this  title  to  an  order  of 
ministers  whom  we  regard  as  introduced  by  men,  and  not  by 
God,  shall  we  tamely  allow  them  the  undivided  use  of  a  title  which 
our  divine  Master  placed  as  a  diadem  around  our  brow;  told  us 
to  wear  as  a  crown  of  honor  ;  and  which  we  can  never  forfeit  or 
lay  aside,  without  disgrace,  dishonor,  and  defeat?  Such  a  use  of 
this  title  therefore  we  owe  to  ourselves,  to  our  Protestant  brethren, 
to  God  who  called  us  to  this  liberty  ;  and  not  less  to  those  who,  to 
their  own  injury  and  to  the  injury  of  the  church  of  Christ,  com- 
mit such  crying  sin  against  the  truth,  inspiration  and  integrity  of 
the  Bible,  and  against  the  rights  of  the  church  universal. 

We  are  called  to  this  duty  in  self-defence.  Our  standards 
already  proclaim  to  the  world  our  claim  to  the  title  of  bishop. 
Our  arguments  with  prelatists  every  where  assume  and  urge 
these  claims.  And  whatever  opprobrium,  or  misconception,  or 
abusive  imputation  of  ambitious  or  improper  motives  may  be 
made,  are  now  and  have  been  incurred.  We  are  already,  and 
necessarily,  implicated  in  all  this  evil,  if  evil  it  be.  And  we  are 
so  while  we  reject  the  common  use  of  this  term,  without  the 
opportunity  of  self-defence,  and  in  an  attitude  of  glaring  incon- 
sistency and  cowardly  timidity  which  bespeaks  conscious  diffi- 
dence in  the  justice  of  our  claims.     But  by  boldly,  openly,  and 


158  APPENDIX. 

as  men,  assuming  our  divine  title,  we  will  then  make  it  neces- 
sary for  those  who  know  not  the  truth  to  find  it  out,  and  for 
those  who  do  not  think  upon  it,  to  lay  it  to  heart  and  feel  all  its 
impressiveness  and  force. 

It  has  been  urged  indeed  in  opposition  to  this  course,  "  that 
the  term  bishop,  ever  since  the  word  was  adopted  from  the  Sax- 
on, has  been  given  to  a  superior  order  of  clergy,  and  that 
general  use  has  fixed  that  signification  of  the  term."  It  is  there- 
fore argued,  that  since  the  term  bishop  is  exclusively  a  Saxon 
word,  and  has  ever  designated  a  superior  order  of  clergy,  Pres- 
byterian ministers  cannot  employ  it  without  absurdity  and  con- 
tradiction. 

Now  the  basis  of  this  argument  we  reject  as  contrary  to  fact. 
It  is  not  true  that  the  term  bishop  is  exclusively  Saxon,  or  that  it 
has  always  been  allowed  to  mean  a  superior  order  of  clergy,  such 
as  prelates.  This  we  will  prove  by  the  testimony  of  Richardson 
and  Webster.  Such  objectors  have  been  misled  by  the  partial 
exhibition  of  the  true  relations  of  this  word  as  given  by  Dr. 
Johnson. 

"  This  word,"  (Bishop,)  says  Richardson,'  ''upon  the  in- 
troduction OF  Christianity  found  its  way  into  all  the 
European  languages.  A.  Saxon,  bisceop  ;  Dutch,  biscliop  ; 
German,  bischof;  Swedish,  biskop ;  French,  evesque ;  Italian, 
vescovo;  Spanish,  obispo.  A  bishop,"  he  adds,  "is  literally 
an  overlooker,  an  overseer."  This  is  the  only  meaning  he  gives 
the  word. 

"  This  Greek  and  Latin  word,"  says  Webster,^  giving  the 
Greek  and  Latin  forms  of  the  word  Bishop,  "  accompanied  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  west  and  north  of  Eu- 
rope, and  has  been  corrupted  into  the  Saxon,  biscop  ;  Swedish 
and  Danish,  biskop;  Dutch,  bisschop ;  German,  bischof;  Italian, 
vescovo;  French,  evesque;  Spanish,  obispo;  Portuguese,  bis- 
po;  Welsh,  esgob ;  and  Irish,  easgob  ;  in  Arabic  and  Persic, 
oskof."  And  the  two  first  meanings  given  to  the  word,  are — 
"  I.  An  overseer  or  spiritual  superintendent,  ruler,  or  director  ; 

'  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language. 
2  Ibid,  edition  of  1841. 


AI'PKNDJX.  159 

2.  In  the  Primitive  Church,  a  spiritual  overseer ;  an  Elder  or 
Presbyter  ;  one  who  had  the  pastoral  care  of  the  church." 
Now,  from  these  facts  and  statements  it  is  manifest — 

1.  That  the  term  bishop  is  a  corruption  of  the  Greek  word 
rpiscopos,  the  first  letter  being  left  off,  and  p  softened  into  b,  thus 
making  biscop. 

2.  That  the  Greek  word  episcopos  used  in  the  New  Testament 
to  designate  the  ministry,  was,  from  the  very  introduction  of 
Christianity,  carried  with  the  Gospel  and  the  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  into  all  the  languages  of  the  countries  into  which  Chris- 
tianity was  introduced. 

3.  That  the  various  churches  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  in 
order  to  designate  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  did  not  adopt  a 
term  which  had  been  used  among  them  to  imply  a  superior  order 
above  some  inferior  order,  but  did,  by  express  design,  adopt,  in 
some  modified  form  of  pronunciation,  the  original  term  given  to 
the  ministry  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  Scripture. 

4.  That  the  term  bishop  is  not  Saxon,  but  the  Greek  word 
episcopos  shortened  \nio piscopos,  thence  mio  piscop,  and  thence, 
for  the  sake  of  euphony,  into  biscop  and  bishop. 

5.  That  in  the  primitive  use  of  this  word,  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  and  in  all  languages,  it  meant,  not  a  superior  order  of 
clergy,  but  just  what  it  means  in  the  word  of  God,  "  an  elder 
or  presbyter,  one  who  had  the  pastoral  care  of  the  church." 
And  if  the  reader  will  look  into  the  author's  work  on  "  Presby- 
tery and  Prelacy,"  (see  pp.  111-114,  &c.,)  he  will  find  abundant 
proof  from  the  fathers  to  show  that  the  term  continued  to  be  re- 
garded in  the  same  light  for  centuries. 

The  English  term  bishop  is  therefore  the  Greek  term  epis- 
copos, modified  so  as  to  suit  the  idiom  of  the  language.  Now 
what  is  the  meaning  of  the  Greek  term  episcopos  throughout  the 
New  Testament?  Let  Bishop  Onderdonk  answer.  "The  name 
bishop,"  says  this  prelatic  champion,  "  which  now  designates 
the  highest  grade  of  the  ministry,  is  not  appropriated  to  that 
office  in  Scripture.  That  name  is  there  given  to  the  middle 
order  of  presbyters  ;  and  all  that  we  read  in  the  New  Testament 
concerning  bishops,  (including  of  course  the  words  overseer  and 
oversight,)  is  to  be  regarded  as  pertaining  to  that  middle  grade." 


160  APPENDIX. 

Such  is  the  admission  of  Bishop  Onderdonk,  which  no  man  of 
understanding  will  now  venture  to  gainsay.  And  what  then  is 
and  must  be  the  inference  ?  It  is  manifestly  this,  that  since  the 
English  word  bishop  is  the  Greek  word  cpiscopos,  only  in  a 
modified  form,  the  English  term  bishop  can  of  right  refer  only 
to  the  order  of  presbyters,  and  not  to  the  higher  grade  of  prelates. 
The  term  bishop  does  not,  and  cannot,  by  any  use  of  man,  be 
made  to  mean  a  superior  order  of  clergy;  but  is  exclusively  ap- 
plicable to  the  one  order  of  presbyters. 

This  whole  argument  is,  therefore,  a  flimsy  sophistry,  founded 
on  a  baseless  assumption,  which  is  the  very  reverse  of  the  truth 
in  the  case. 

Now,  as  we  regard  this  question,  it  is  a  matter  of  great  and 
momentous  consequence.  It  involves  the  whole  question  of  the 
Divine  inspiration  and  authority  of  the  sacred  volume ;  the 
supremacy  of  God's  word;  and  the  sovereignty  and  headship  of 
Christ,  as  the  only  lawgiver  and  legislator  of  his  church.  God 
seems  to  have  thrown  around  this  matter  the  most  solemn  and 
unutterable  sanctions,  for  it  is  explicitly  declared  that  presbyters 
are  made  and  denominated  episcopoi,  that  is,  bishops,  "  by  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Here  the  title  of  bishops  is  given  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  presbyters,  and  not  to  any  superior  order  of  clergy. 
The  word  bishop  is  not  then  an  old  Saxon  term  for  a  superior  or- 
der of  officers,  but  is  expressly,  and  by  design,  the  original  Greek 
term  modified  and  altered,  so  as  to  become  a  Saxon  and  English 
word. 

Is  this,  or  is  it  not,  the  case?  If  it  is — and  who  can  deny 
that  it  is? — then  who  is  he  that  will  dare  to  sanction  the  appro- 
priation of  this  term  to  an  order  of  clergy  superior  to  pres- 
byters? What  is  this  but  to  assume  Divine  prerogatives;  to 
undo  what  God  has  done ;  to  unsay  what  God  has  said  ;  to  gain- 
say the  Holy  Ghost  himself;  to  tread  under  foot  the  inspired 
volume;  and  by  the  authority  of  man  to  alter  and  subvert  the 
teachings  of  heaven?  We  have  no  more  right  to  alter  the  de- 
cision and  teaching  of  God  respecting  the  title  bishop,  than  we 
have  respecting  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith.  The  one, 
as  much  as  the  other,  is  above  our  reach  and  beyond  our  power. 
We  have  no  liberty  in  this  matter.     It  is  not  a  question  of  ex- 


APPENDIX.  161 

pediency  at  all.  It  is  a  matter  of  revelation,  and  of  plain,  positive, 
and  commanded  duty. 

**  But  for  fifteen  centuries,"  it  is  said,  "  the  world  has  at- 
tached to  the  term  bishop  the  idea  of  a  superior  order  of  clergy." 
And  what  is  that  to  us?  For  the  same  time  it  has  overturned 
the  order  of  Christ's  house  and  the  doctrines  of  Christ's  gospel, 
and  taught  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of  men.  Our  creed 
is  not  found  in  the  faith  or  practice  of  the  last  fifteen  centuries, 
but  in  *'  the  word  of  God  that  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever." 
Here  is  our  faith,  and  woe  is  unto  us  if  we  do  not  teach  what- 
soever is  here  commanded,  even  though  it  be  *'  one  of  the  least 
commandments." 

"  But  the  assumption  of  the  title  bishop,  will  inevitably  sub- 
ject us  to  popular  suspicion  and  ridicule."  Let  it  do  so.  Let 
men  laugh  at  us,  and  have  us  in  derision.  This  is  not  our  busi- 
ness or  our  concern.  Duty  is  ours,  God  has  spoken,  and  we 
cannot  alter  his  declarations.  We  must  obey  God  rather  than 
men.  We  must  do  nothing  less  than  God  requires,  and  all  that 
he  requires.  And  as  he  has,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  given  to  pres- 
byters this  title  of  bishop,  it  is  our  duty  to  give  it  to  them  also. 
But  all  this  dread  of  ridicule  is  pusillanimous  and  cowardly. 
The  world  cannot  meet  the  question  and  ridicule  us.  They  will 
themselves  be  put  to  shame.  Our  use  of  the  term  will  lead  to  in- 
quiry, and  inquiry  to  conviction,  and  conviction  to  the  commenda- 
tion and  imitation  of  our  course.  Whether  we  can  alter  current 
views  or  not,  in  this  case  we  are  bound  to  try,  and,  as  far  as  we 
are  concerned,  to  persist.  The  world  is  as  much  against  our 
doctrines  as  against  our  polity.  But  both  are  of  God,  and  both 
must  be  held  forth,  whether  men  will  laugh  or  curse,  hear  or 
forbear.  Neither  will  we  bear  our  testimony  in  vain.  Other 
denominations  are  joining  us,  and  most  assuredly  the  time  is 
coming,  WHEN  the  title  bishop,  given  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 

PRESBYTERS,  WILL  BE   GIVEN  TO  NONE  BUT  PRESBYTERS. 

Other  objections  might  be  distinctly  noticed,  and  have  been 
replied  to  elsewhere,  but  it  is  unnecessary,  as  they  have  been  al- 
ready indirectly  adverted  to,  or  altogether  removed.  W^e  will 
only  notice  one  or  two  remaining  difficulties.  '*'  So  plain  and  so 
particular  are  our  standards  on  this  subject,"  it  has   been  said, 


102  APPENDIX. 

"that  when  a  man  is  ordained  a  minister,  sine  titulo,  he  is  not 
called  a  Bishop  at  nil,  but  an  Evangelist;  that  is,  a  presbyter, 
not  bound  to  any  particular  parish  or  cure — a  presbyter  like 
about  one-half  of  those  in  our  church;  for  I  presume  at 
least  that  proportion  were  either  ordained  evangelists  or  are 
acting  as  such.  It  is  supremely  idle  to  call  a  man  bishop 
whose  relation  to  a  cure  of  souls  is  not  sufficient  to  warraiY't  our 
calling  him,  in  any  proper  sense,  even  an  evangelist." 

We  are  very  much  amazed  at  the  statements  in  this  objec- 
tion. The  definition  here  given  of  an  evangelist,  so  as  to  serve 
the  purpose  of  the  objector,  is  not  that  given  by  the  standards, 
or  the  usage  of  our  church.  Our  standards  define  this  office  in 
chapter  xv.  and  chapter  xviii.  of  "  The  Form  of  Government."  In 
chapter  xv.  §  15,  an  evangelist  is  defined  to  be  one  ordained 
"  to  preach  the  gospel,  administer  sealing  ordinances,  and  or- 
ganize churches  m  frontier  or  destitute  settlements."  And  in 
chapter  xviii.,  he  is  in  like  manner  spoken  of  as  "  a  missionary 
sent  to  any  part  to  plant  churches  or  to  supply  vacancies,  and  or- 
dained without  relation  to  particular  churches." 

Our  Book,  therefore,  does  not  plainly  and  particularly  attach 
the  term  evangelist  to  all  ministers  who  may  at  any  time  be  with- 
out charge.  Neither  would  the  term  be  understood,  if  used  in 
reference  to  a  minister  who  is  at  the  time  not  in  charge  of  a  con- 
gregation, though  locally  occupied  in  some  other  business  of  the 
church.  And  we  have  already  seen  that  our  church,  in  her  pub- 
lic standards,  plainly,  and  indubitably ,  and  repeatedly,  employs 
the  term  bishop  for  tninisters  universally,  whether  they  are  in 
charge  or  not.  That  our  church  has  done  wrong  in  ordaining 
men  when  they  were  not  sent  forth  as  evangelists,  nor  installed 
over  any  particular  charge,  is  unquestionably  true.  But  this 
evil  is  not  remedied  by  withdrawing  from  such  persons  the  name 
of  bishop,  but  by  the  church  courts  taking  heed  not  to  lay  hands 
suddenly  or  unadvisedly  on  any  man. 

But  we  proceed  to  notice  the  last  objection.  "  While  I  am 
on  this  topic,"  says  the  same  eminent  objector,  "  let  me  suggest 
a  collateral  doubt.  If  it  is  a  bishop  that  we  all  must  be,  then 
bishop  be  it.  But  in  this  case  none  but  bona  fide  bishops  can 
sit  in  our  church  courts." 


APPENDIX.  163 

In  this  objection,  the  author  assumes  the  very  point  in  dis- 
pute, to  wit,  that  they  only  are  honajich  bishops,  who  are. placed 
over  some  particular  church,  whereas  the  contrary  has  been 
made  incontrovertibly  plain.  Our  standards  do  not  thus  use  the 
term  bishop,  but  use  it  in  a  general  sense,  as  applicable  to  all 
ministers  who  have  been  ordained.  So  much,  therefore,  for  these 
objections  to  the  use  of  the  term  bishop.  Whether  they  have  any 
manner  of  weight  in  them,  we  leave  our  readers  to  judge;  cer- 
tain it  is  that  the  use  of  the  term  is  authorized  and  required  by 
our  own  Standards — by  the  Word  of  God — and  by  all  the  Pres- 
byterian churches  throughout  the  world — and  also  by  expedien- 
cy, consistency,  and  a  due  regard  to  our  own  character  and 
standing. 

This  objector  adds  :  ''  Let  us  not  go  too  fast.  Our  fathers 
were  wise  men,  and  we  shall  find,  if  we  will  carefully  exam- 
ine, that  their  smallest  doings  had  sense  in  them,  and  Scrip- 
ture for  them.  Some  think  we  are  all  very  wise  too,  and  per- 
haps we  all  are.     I  only  suggest  doubts." 

Now  the  sarcasm  here  is  entirely  misapplied,  and  turns  only 
its  keen  edge  against  its  author.     He  is  the  innovator.     He 

LIBELS    THE    ^VISDOM    AND    GOOD    SENSE    OF    OUR    FATHERS.         He 

it  is  who  would  oppose  the  use  of  a  term  for  which,  as  even  he 
allows^  we  have  the  unquestionable  sanction  of  Scripture.  His 
doubts  are  therefore  baseless.  They  neither  rest  on  the  authori- 
ty of  our  standards — of  our  fathers — or  of  Scripture.  That  in 
Scripture  the  term  bishop  is  employed  as  a  general  title,  and  ap- 
plied to  all  ministers  our  objector  allows,  whatever  more  extend- 
ed application  he  may  suppose  it  to  have.  That  it  is  thus  used 
in  our  own  standards,  we  have  abundantly  shown.  And  that  it 
was  thus  used  by  our  fathers,  "  whose  smallest  doings  had  sense 
in  them,  and  Scripture  for  them,"  we  have  fully  demonstrated. 
Let  the  objector  then  be  assured  of  the  perfect  truth  and  appli- 
cability of  what  he  says,  and  which  we  cordially  adopt:  "One 
thing  I  find,  and  I  find  it  more  and  more  as  I  advance  in  years, 
and  therefore  more  wary;  there  is  often  more  in  a  thing  than  one 
sees  at  first.  So  I  am  well  satisfied  it  is  here ;  and  for  one,  1 
stand  by  old  land-marks." 

Let  us  then,  without  fear  or  shame,  ridicule,  or  banter,  or 


I(l4  APPENDIX. 

the  absurd  imputation  of  vanity  or  ambition — let  us  introduce 
familiarly  the  use  of  the  title  bishop  in  that  sense  in  which  it  has 
been  given  in  Scripture,  and  ever  used  by  our  fathers,  and  by  our 
present  standards. 

We  will  only  add,  as  one  additional  reason,  that  to  the  use  of 
this  title  of  bishop  in  all  our  ecclesiastical  proceedings  and 
public  references  and  advertisements,  we  are  urged  by  the  wide- 
spread unanimity  with  which  churches  of  every  name,  and  in 
every  land,  are  now  reverting  to  this  practice,  and  openly  acting 
upon  it.  We  had  noted  down  many  references  to  the  common 
and  designed  use  of  this  word  in  the  works  and  periodicals  of 
many  different  denominations,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Eng- 
land ;  but  the  practice  has  now  become  so  common,  that  any 
specification  would  be  useless.  The  formal  determination  has 
been  made  by  many  bodies  in  this  country  to  introduce  this  term 
into  their  customary  proceedings.  This  has  been  done  by  some 
of  the  New-England  Associations,  by  the  Baptist  denomination, 
by  the  Lutheran  church,  and  by  many  Presbyterian  bodies.  It 
is  now  very  common  in  Scotland  ;  is  under  consideration  among 
the  Congregationalists;  is,  to  some  extent,  supported  by  the 
Wesleyan  body;^  and  has,  as  we  were  informed  in  Ireland,  occu- 
pied the  attention  of  the  Congregational  body  in  that  country,  by 
one  of  whose  ministers  we  were  requested  to  prepare  this  sum- 
mary of  our  views  upon  th6  subject. 

The  adoption  of  the  term  bishop  equally  concerns  all  denom- 
inations, and  if  all  unite  in  the  practice,  or  even  a  considerable 
number,  the  term  will  come  sufficiently  into  use  to  secure  the 
ends  in  view.  For  ourselves,  we  regard  the  matter  as  of  great 
practical  moment;  and  while  it  can  do  no  harm,  it  will,  we  think, 
accomplish  much  good.  The  use  of  the  term  we  are  not  at  lib- 
erty to  abolish,  if  we  could;  and  every  reason  forbids  such  a  dis- 
use of  it,  if  it  were  allowable.  Not  only  is  it  true,  as  we  have 
said,  that  to  many  the  common  and  apparently  unquestioned  use 
of  the  term  authenticates  the  scriptural  claims  of  prelatical  bish- 
ops, but  it  is  also  true,  (and  to  this  closing  remark  we  ask  spe- 
cial attention,)  that  from   this  established  use  of  the  word   even 

'  See  Powel  on  the  Apostolical  Succession. 


APPENDIX.  165 

the  most  learned  advocates  of  prelacy  are  in  the  constant  habit 
of  inferring  the  existence  o^  such  prelatical  bishops  in  the  early 
ages  and  writers  of  the  Christian  church.  We  have  met  with  no 
writer  on  the  Episcopal  side  of  the  question,  not  excluding  the 
late,  but  now  degraded  Bishop  Onderdonk,  who  does  not  pur- 
sue this  most  Jesuitical  and  irrational  mode  of  defence.  Why 
they  do  so  is  very  obvious,  since  this  play  upon  words  is  the  only 
possible  pretence  by  which  the  earliest  writers  can  be  forced  to 
speak  like  Episcopalians,  or  make  out  even  three  of  the  many 
orders  which  the  prelacy  has  made  essentia]  to  the  church.  But 
how  they  can  do  so,  in  common  honesty,  is  another  question, 
which  is  very  far  from  being  open  to  an  easy  explanation.  When 
such  writers  are  compelled  to  do  so,  they  will  assume  great  credit 
for  candor  by  admitting  that  in  Scripture  the  terms  bishop  and 
presbyter  are  synonymous.  But  instead  of  arguing  from  this  es- 
tablished meaning  of  the  word  in  interpreting  the  fathers, — until 
these  fathers  themselves  teach  us  that  a  different  interpretation 
had  been  adopted  by  them,  however  wrongly, — they  assume,  on 
the  contrary,  that  because  at  a  late  period  in  the  history  of  the 
church  the  word  bishop  undoubtedly  did  mean  an  order  claiming 
higher  powers  than  presbyters,  that  therefore  it  must  be  under- 
stood in  this  sense  in  the  very  e«r/^e5^  of  the  fathers.  But  the 
same  reasoning  would  justify  the  interpretation  of  the  word  bish- 
op in  this  prelatical  sense  in  the  Scriptures,  which  they  admit 
cannot  be  the  case;  and  it  would  also  justify  all  the  other  here- 
sies and  abuses  which  the  Romish  church  bases  upon  the  present 
conventional  use  of  such  words  as  priest,  high-priesl,  altar,  pe- 
nance, confirmation,  confess,  &c. 

The  importance,  therefore,  of  familiarizing  the  minds  of  men 
with  the  true  and  only  proper  meaning  of  the  word  bishop — for 
let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  this  is  a  term  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
has  thought  fit  himself  to  define  and  appropriate — must  be  appa- 
rent. With  this  meaning  clearly  before  them,  they  will  be  pre- 
pared to  read  the  early  fathers,  or  passages  from  them,  under- 
standingly,  and  not  through  the  medium  of  Episcopal  bias  and 
unrighteous  prejudice  ;  and  they  will  not  therefore  be  so  ready,  as 
thousands  have  been,  to  fall  into  the  trap  laid  for  them  by  crafty 
men,  who  lie  in  wait  to  deceive  and  ensnare  souls  into  their  dan- 


IG6  APPENDIX. 

gerous  and  delusive  system.  And  if  at  any  time  it  is  important, 
and  our  duty,  to  preserve  men  within  the  limits  of  that  clmrch 
which  we  believe  to  be  most  accordant  to  the  pattern  laid  down 
in  the  mount;  how  much  more  is  this  the  case  now,  when  the 
distinction  between  low  and  high  church  Episcopalians  has  been 
openly  discarded  even  by  such  organs  as  "  The  Episcopal  Re- 
corder ;"  when  the  low  church  party,  represented  by  the  Cecils, 
the  Newtons,  the  Venns,  and  the  Scotts,  no  longer  exists  in  any 
avowed  form  or  to  any  extent ;  when  the  lowest  Episcopalians 
now  to  be  found  are  "Evangelical  High-Churcijmen  ;"  (a 
contradiction,  and  an  absurdity  ;)  and  when  the  only  ambition 
now  found  among  this  party  is  to  exalt  their  denomination,  and 
to  reject  as  slanderous,  all  allusions  to  any  difference  or  division 
or  possible  separation  in  the  Episcopal  church.  The  truth  has 
now  been  openly  and  unquestionably  sacrificed  in  that  church  to 
the  claims  of  heretical  unity  and  fictitious  peace,  and  they  who 
should  be  found  coming  out  from  a  body  now  given  over  to  the 
belief  and  approval  of  false  and  dangerous  doctrines,  are  on  the 
contrary  found  glorying  in  their  shame. ^ 

We  rejoice,  therefore,  that  in  our  place  in  the  General  As- 
sembly of  our  church  some  years  ago,  we  were  permitted  to  give 
origin  to  the  present  extended  movement  on  this  subject,  by  the 
introduction  and  subsequent  discussion  of  the  following  overture. 
"  Whereas  in  the  New  Testament  the  term  bishop  is  used  syno- 
nymously with  that  of  presbyter  as  descriptive  of  the  ministerial 
office  ;  whereas  this  term  has  come,  by  the  ecclesiastical  usage 
of  a  particular  denomination,  to  be  appropriated  to  an  order  of 
ministers  claiming  to  be  superior  to,  and  distinct  from,  presby- 
ters;  and  whereas  from  our  reluctance — in  consequence  of  its 
association  with  intolerance  and  civil  jurisdiction — to  employ  this 
term  in  its  original  and  proper  signification,  (as  used  in  our 
standards,)  this  error  has  been  countenanced  and  greatly  pro- 
moted. Therefore  resolved,  that  the  General  Assembly  re- 
commends to  all  its  Synods  and  Presbyteries  to  employ  the  term 
bishop  in  their  regular  minutes,  lists,  and  statistical  tables ;  and 


'  Of  course  there  are  noble  individual  exceptions,  but  ihcy  are  very  much 
out  of  place,  and  impotent  to  stem  the  tide  of  evil. 


APPENDIX.  167 

to  all  ministers,  elders,  and  church  members,  to  introduce  the 
use  of  the  term,  as  the  ordinary  official  title  of  ministers,  on.  all 
proper  occasions." 

In  allusion  to  these  efforts,  Mr.  Lorimer,  of  Glasgow,  in  his 
Manual  of  Presbyterianism  says  :'  "  Episcopalians  obtain  an  un- 
due advantage  over  their  brethren  in  other  communions,  from 
the  vvord  '*  bishop"  in  the  English  language  having  come  to  de- 
scribe the  overseer,  not  of  a  congregation,  but  of  the  clergy. 
This  is  not,  however,  its  original  meaning.  It  simply  signifies 
an  "overseer."  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists  are  equal- 
ly entitled  to  use  it  as  Episcopalians,  and  to  apply  it  to  their 
ministers  as  "overseers"  of  the  Christian  people.  Where  met 
with  in  Scripture,  Christians  should  always  remember  that  it 
means  nothing  but  the  pastor  and  overseer  of  the  congregation, 
and  that  the  same  is  its  meaning  in  the  earliest  period  of  the 
primitive  church. 

And  in  his  work  on  the  eldership,  Mr.  Lorimer  adds  :^  "  Per- 
haps it  would  tend  to  correct  false  impressions  as  to  officers  in 
the  Presbyterian  church,  were  the  Presbyterians  of  this  country 
to  adopt  the  practice  which  is  followed  by  their  brethren  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  of  using  only  Scriptural  names  when 
speaking  of  their  ecclesiastical  officers.  Thus,  in  reportino- 
members  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  America,  ministers  are  styled  bishops,  and  elders  are  denom- 
inated ruling  elders.  This  restores  the  word  bishop  to  its  prim- 
itive Scripture  meaning,  and  deprives  our  Episcopalian  friends 
of  an  undue  advantage  which  they  possess,  from  the  popular  im- 
pression that  there  can  be  no  bishops  but  diocesan  bishops,  such 
as  govern  the  Church  of  England,  owing  to  the  word  in  common 
speech  being  appropriated  to  them.  In  the  same  way,  the  term 
elder  would  be  speedily  freed  from  absurd  and  unmerited  re- 
proach. More  error  is  conveyed  and  perpetuated  by  incorrect 
names  than  many  imagine.  They  exert  an  injurious  influence 
even  over  minds  which  know  better." 

'  Edinb.  1842,  p.  29.  2  Glasgow,  1841,  p.  44. 


NOTES. 


Note  A. 

The  following  vindication  of  the  order  of  the  Free  Church  Assembly,  on  Elders 
and  Deacons,  is  taken  from  The  Free  Church  Magazine  for  August. 

The  Assembly's  Act  on  Elders  and  Deacons. 

Two  objections  may  be,  perhaps  M'e  should  say,  have  been,  urged  against 
this  Act,  and  we  propose  here  shortly  to  consider  them.  The  one  is,  that  too 
much  power  is  given  to  the  Deacons  ;  and  the  other  that  too  much  power  is 
given  to  the  Elders. 

The  first  objection  is  that  too  much  power  is  given  to  the  Deacons.  On 
referring  to  Scripture,  we  find  that  the  Deacon's  office  was  established  because 
of  complaints  that  the  poor  were  not  sufficiently  attended  to,  and  the  Deacons 
were  appointed  for  the  distribution  of  the  alms  of  the  church  among  such  of  the 
disciples  as  had  need.  "  Look  ye  out  among  you,"  said  the  apostles,  "  seven  men 
whom  we  may  appoint  over  this  business."  It  is  nowhere  expressly  stated  that 
any  portion  of  the  ecclesiastical  goods  was  to  be  administered  by  them,  except 
that  which  was  destined  for  the  relief  of  the  poor. — Acts  6  :  1-4  ;  1  Tim.  3  : 
8-13.  Now,  the  objection  is,  that  the  Act  of  Assembly  gives  the  Deacon  a 
much  more  extensive  charge,  and  invests  him  with  authority  in  the  disposal  of 
the  whole  of  the  church's  patrimony, — not  only  that  which  consists  in  alms  for 
the  poor,  but  also  that  which  is  designed  for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  and 
for  the  erection  and  repair  of  our  places  of  worship. 

It  is  true  that  the  Act  in  question  does  all  this,  and  that  in  all  temporal 
matters  whatsver,  in  the  whole  secular  business  of  the  congregation,  it  places 
the  Deacon  on  a  perfect  equality  with  the  Elder,  so  far  as  determining  how 
the  ecclesiastical  goods  are  to  be  administered  is  concerned,  and  confers  on  him, 
moreover,  an  executive  function,  whereby  he  is  to  give  effect  to  the  resolution 
which  the  office-bearers  at  large  have  seen  fit  to  adopt. 

But  we  see  not  in  this  that  there  is  any  unwarrantable  stretching  of  the  Dea- 
con's office  so  as  to  make  it  embrace  objects  and  powers  inconsistent  with,  or  be- 
yond its  scriptural  design.  For  it  should  be  observed,  that  there  were  two  reasons 
for  the  institution  of  the  Deaconship.     The  one  may  be  said  to  have  been  more 

9 


170  NOTES. 

peculiarly  the  people's  reason  ;  and  the  other,  that  of  the  apostles.  The  peo- 
ple's reason  M'as,  that  the  widows  might  not  be  neglected  in  the  daily  ministra- 
tion ;  and  the  reason  stated  by  the  apostles  was,  that  they  might  be  enabled  to 
give  themselves  more  exclusively  to  their  spiritual  duties,  and  not  be  compelled 
"  to  leave  the  Word  of  God,  and  serve  tables."  From  the  people's  reason  we 
gather,  that  one  part  of  the  secular  business  of  the  church  was  sought  to  be 
more  effectually  provided  for  by  the  appointment  of  Deacons,  namely,  that  part 
which  related  to  the  supply  of  the  wants  of  the  poor  ;  and  from  the  apostles' 
reason  we  may  conclude  that  the  Deacons  were  to  have  to  do  with  the  whole 
matter  of  the  daily  ministration,  and  the  service  of  tables  ;  that  is  to  say,  with  the 
management  of  the  church's  whole  temporal  affairs.  The  daily  ministration  and 
the  service  of  tables  cannot,  we  conceive,  be  viewed  as  having  consisted  merely 
in  the  relief  of  the  poor,  according  to  the  usual  acceptation  of  the  word.  At 
the  time  when  the  office  of  Deacon  was  introduced,  the  disciples  of  the  Lord 
had  all  things  common,  and  "  as  many  as  were  possessors  of  lands  or  houses, 
sold  them,  and  brought  the  prices  of  the  things  that  were  sold,  and  laid  them 
down  at  the  apostles'  feet ;  and  distribution  was  made  to  every  man  according 
as  he  had  need."  Acts  2  :  44-46  ;  4 :  32-37.  "  Every  man"  had  his  portion 
out  of  that  common  fund.  The  generous  donors,  who  had  placed  in  it  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  sale  of  their  property,  received  theirs.  The  destitute  widows  had 
a  title  to  theirs.  So  also  had  the  apostles  themselves.  And  out  of  that  same 
fund  must  all  payments  have  been  made  which  were  connected  with  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  ordinances  of  Christ.  It  is  highly  reasonable,  therefore,  to 
conclude,  that  the  service  of  tables  and  the  daily  ministration  embraced  all  the 
ordinary  disbursements  of  the  church,  and  its  whole  temporal  business ;  and 
that  the  appointment  of  Deacons  was  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  lightening 
the  burden  of  the  apostles,  in  respect  of  the  entire  class  of  secular  duties,  that 
their  minds  might  be  left  more  free  and  undisturbed  for  the  exercise  of  prayer, 
and  the  ministry  of  the  Word.  "  Duties  of  a  secular  nature,"  the  apostles  sub- 
stantially said,  "  however  important  these  duties  may  be,  cannot  be  allow^ed  to 
interfere  with  the  due  exercise  of  the  spiritual  functions  which  we  are  called  to 
perform  ;  and  when  the  care  of  the  temporal  concerns  of  the  church  becomes 
so  weighty  and  engrossing  as  to  be  incompatible  with  the  charge  of  men's 
souls  and  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  it  is  essential  to  have  other  office-bearers 
through  whom  we  may  obtain  the  requisite  relief,  and  on  whom  the  main  bur- 
den of  the  outward  business  of  the  sanctuary  may  be  devolved." 

In  conformity  with  this  view,  and,  doubtless,  on  such  grounds  as  have  been 
stated,  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline  say*  of  the  Deacons, — "  Their  office  and 
power  is  to  receive,  and  to  distribute  the  haill  ecclesiastical  goods  unto  them 
to  whom  they  are  appointed."  True,  it  is  immediately  added — "  This  they 
ought  to  do  according  to  the  judgment  and  appointment  of  the  Presbyteries  or 
Elderships,  of  the  which  the  Deacons  are  not,"  &.c.  ;  and  this  may  be  reckon- 
ed scarcely  compatible  with  the  Act  of  Assembly  which  gives  the  Deacon  the 
very  same  vote  and  authority  in  disposing  of  the  congregational  funds,  as  it 
gives  to  the  Elder  or  the  Minister.     We  think,  however,  that  the  power  of  reg- 


NOTES.  171 

ulation  here  assigned  to  the  presbyteries  of  the  church,  where  the  Deacons  have 
no  seats,  may  be  rather  regarded  as  analogous  to  the  power  exercised  by  the 
commissioners  of  Presbyteries  in  General  Assembly  convened,  when  they  reg- 
ulate, either  directly,  or  through  their  committees,  the  sustentation  of  ministers, 
or  when  they  pass  an  act,  as  they  did  in  the  present  case,  specifying  the  pur- 
poses to  which  the  church  funds  are  to  be  applied,  and  laying  down  the  rules 
of  secular  administration  ;  and,  at  all  events,  we  are  satisfied  that  a  more 
rigid  construction  of  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline  would  be  less  in  accord- 
ance with  the  lessons  which  Scripture  precedent  affords  us. 

The  second  objection  which  is  taken  against  the  Assembly's  Act  is,^that  too 
much  power  is  given  to  the  Elders.  It  may  appear  a  little  strange  that  the 
same  law  should  be  liable  to  objections  which  thus  conflict  with  each  other. 
Yet  so  it  is.  While,  on  the  one  hand,  there  are,  as  we  have  seen,  plausible 
(although  not  solid)  grounds  for  alleging  that  it  stretches  unwarrantably  the 
office  of  Deacon,  and  gives  power  to  that  office-bearer  beyond  what  the  original 
institution  did  :  on  the  other  hand  it  can  be  maintained,  and  with  some  show 
of  reason,  that  the  Act  errs  in  that  very  particular  with  regard  to  the  oflSce  of 
the  Elder,  and  sends  him  out  of  his  province  to  exercise  authority  in  the  Dea- 
con's department.  Why,  it  may  be  asked,  should  we  not  now,  in  this  time  of 
reform,  confine  the  Elder  entirely  to  those  spiritual  duties  which  are  so  import- 
ant, and  have  been  heretofore  so  much  neglected,  and  leave  the  business  of 
the  Deacon's  Court  to  be  performed  exclusively  by  those  who  have  no  higher 
and  hoHer  work  assigned  them  ]  There  is  a  seeming  force  in  the  question.  Tt 
is  not  unfair  to  call  upon  us  to  vindicate  the  arrangement  which  vests  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  secular  affairs  of  the  church,  not  in  the  Deacons  alone,  but 
in  all  the  congregational  office-bearers  together.  We  are  bound,  in  fact,  to 
show  that  the  Pastors  and  Eiders  of  the  church  can  lawfully  be  associated  with 
the  Deacons,  in  the  charge  and  allocation  of  ecclesiastical  funds. 

Our  argument  shall  be  short.  Four  steps  will  bring  us  to  the  end  of  it. 
^he  first  step  is,  that  the  greater  office  always  includes  the  less.  This  is  not 
a  principle  in  the  state,  but  it  is  a  well-known  and  acknowledged  principle  in 
the  Christian  church.  The  meaning  of  it  is,  that  the  appropriate  functions  of 
the  Deacon  are  competent  to  the  Elder,  and  those  of  the  Deacon  and  of  the  Elder 
to  the  Pastor, — in  other  words,  that  the  Elder,  because  he  is  an  Elder,  is 
also  a  Deacon  ;  and  the  Pastor,  because  he  is  a  Pastor,  is  also  an  Elder  and 
a  Deacon.  The  superior  office-bearer  may  not  always  exercise  the  powers  of  the 
inferior  one,  but  he  is  always  capable  of  doing  so,  and  will  exercise  them,  if  need 
be.  Hence,  the  Pastors  of  the  church  are  spoken  of,  not  only  as  teachers,  but  as 
rulers  of  the  flock  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  special  function  of  the  Eldership  belongs 
to  them.  Heb.  13  :  7,  17.  Hence,  also,  Peter  says,  "  The  Elders  which  are 
among  you  I  exhort,  who  am  also  an  Elder."  1  Pet.  5:1.  And  hence,  in 
fine,  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  were  Pastors,  and  Elders,  and  Deacons,  in  the 
church.  They  were  Pastors  ;  for  they  fed  ihe  flock.  They  were  Elders;  for 
they  ruled  it.  And  they  were  Deacons  ;  for  the  whole  secular  business  of  the 
church  was  performed  by  them,  until  the  time  of  the  appointment  of  the  seven. 


J72  NOTES. 

From  all  this  we  may  infer,  at  the  very  least,  that,  where  there  are  no  Deacons, 
it  is  competent  and  proper  for  the  other  office-bearers  to  take  the  necessary  over- 
sight of  the  church's  temporal  affairs. 

The  second  step  in  the  argument  is,  that  o/<er  a  separate  order  of  men  had 
been  appointed  as  Deacons,  the  higher  office-bearers  continued  to  take  some 
charge  of  the  secular  concerns  of  the  church.  When  Paul  received  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  from  the  other  apostles,  and  it  was  settled  that  he  should 
labor  in  the  Gentile  field,  we  are  told  that  a  stipulation  was  made,  to  which 
he  most  cordially  acceded.  "  Only  they  would,"  he  says,  "  that  we  should  re- 
member the  poor  ;  the  same  which  I  also  was  forward  to  do."  Gal.  2  :  10. 
Thus  the  care  of  the  poor  was  devolved  upon  Paul  at  the  very  beginning  of 
his  career,  and  he  does  not  appear  to  have  ever  been  released  from  it.  Twice  we 
find  him  to  have  undertaken  a  long  journey  to  Jerusalem,  expressly  as  the  bear- 
er of  the  offerings  of  the  brethren,  and  for  the  purpose  of  ministering  to  the  ne- 
cessities of  the  saints.  We  read  of  the  first  of  these  occasions  in  Acts  11 :  29, 
30,  12  :  25.  In  conjunction  with  Barnabas,  he  had  diligently  labored  in  word 
and  doctrine  at  Antioch,  for  the  space  of  a  whole  year.  The  Lord  had  vouch- 
safed large  success  to  his  servants.  "  A  great  number"  had  believed  ;  "  much 
people"  had  been  added  unto  the  Lord.  The  Church  of  Antioch  was  in  a 
highly  flourishing  condition  ;  and  no  reasonable  doubt  can  be  entertained  that 
it  had  its  full  equipment  of  officer-bearers, — not  only  Pastors,  but  Elders  and 
Deacons.  Yet  when  "  the  disciples,  every  man  according  to  his  ability,  deter- 
mined to  send  relief  unto  the  brethren  which  dwelt  in  Judea,"  they  "  sent  it  to 
the  Elders,  by  the  hands  of  Barnabas  and  Saul."  Nor  was  this  done  because 
Barnabas  and  Saul  had  other  business  which  required  their  presence  in  Jerusa- 
lem. It  is  said,  ch.  12 :  25,  that  they  "  returned  (to  Antioch)  from  Jerusalem, 
when  they  had  fulfilled  their  ministry,"  that  is  to  say,  when  they  had  accom- 
plished the  errand  on  which  the  disciples  of  Antioch  had  sent  them.  The 
work  of  ministering  to  the  saints  was  what  they  had  to  do:  they  did  it  and  re- 
turned. It  deserves  notice,  also,  that  the  Church  of  Antioch  sent  their  contri- 
butions "  to  the  elders."  They  "  determined  to  send  relief  unto  the  brethren 
which  dwelt  in  Judea  ;  which  also  they  did,  and  sent  it  to  the  elders  by  the 
hands  of  Barnabas  and  Saul."  We  know  that  Deacons  had  been  appointed  at 
Jerusalem.  It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance,  therefore,  and  has  an  important 
bearing  on  the  point  now  under  discussion,  that  the  Antioch  offering  was  not 
sent  to  the  Deacons,  but  to  the  Elders.  Many  years  after,  Paul  went  to  Jeru- 
salem a  second  time  on  a  similar  errand.  Standing  on  his  defence  before  Fe- 
lix at  Cesarea,  he  said,  "  After  many  years  I  came  to  bring  alms  to  my  nation, 
and  offerings,"  Acts  24  :  17  ;  and  he  previously  declared,  when  writing  to 
the  Romans  in  the  prospect  of  this  visit, — "  Now  I  go  unto  Jemsalem  to  min- 
ister unto  the  saints.  For  it  hath  pleased  them  of  Macedonia  and  Achaia  to 
make  a  certain  contribution  for  the  poor  saints  which  are  at  Jerusalem. 
When,  therefore,  I  have  performed  this,  and  have  sealed  to  them  this  fruit, 
I  will  come  by  you  into  Spain."  Rom.  15  :  25, 26, 28.  And  how  warmly  the 
apostle  entered  into  the  bushicss,  and   what  eager  charge  he   took  of  the  col- 


NOTES.  173 

lection,  may  be  seen  by  turning  to  1  Cor.  16:  1-4,  and  the  8th  and  9th 
chapters  of  2d  Corinthians.  We  there  find  him  rejoicing  to  receive  the  gift, 
and  to  take  upon  him  the  fellowship  of  the  ministering  to  the  saints.  2  Cor. 
8  :  4,  19,  20.  It  appears  also  that  Titus,  an  evangelist  and  pastor,  was  ac- 
tively employed  in  the  same  matter  of  finance  and  Christian  liberality.  2  Cor. 
8:  6,  16-18,23,24;  9:  3-5. 

Our  third  step  in  this  argument  is,  that  the  conclusion  which  we  have  thus 
drawn  from  Scripture,  is  corroborated  as  a  sound  one  by  the  circumstance  of 
its  having  been  adopted  by  the  Reformers,  and  by  them  embodied  in  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Take  the  following  extracts  in  support  of 
our  assertion. 

"  The  ofiice  of  Deacons  is  to  receive  the  rents,  and  gather  the  alms  of  the 
kirk,  to  keep  and  distribute  the  same,  as  by  the  Ministers  and  Kirk  shall  he 
appointed.  They  may  also  assist  in  judgment  with  the  Ministers  and  Elders," 
6jc.  First  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  x.  §  11.  If  it  be  held  that  the  latter  clause 
refers  to  the  spiritual  deliberations  of  the  session,  then  we  say  that,  a  fortiori, 
the  Deacons  may  assist  the  session  in  judgment,  when  the  temporal  concerns  of 
the  church  are  before  them  ;  and,  in  such  a  case,  have  we  not  just  the  Deacons* 
Court,  as  defined  by  the  Act  of  last  Assembly  1 

"  The  office  of  Deacons  is  to  gather  and  distribute  the  alms  of  the  poor, 
according  to  the  direction  of  the  session.  The  Deacons  should  assist  the  as- 
sembly (i.  e.  the  session)  in  judgment,  and  may  read  publicly  if  need  requires." 
— Ane  short  Somme  of  the  Buik  of  Discipline. 

"  The  receivers  and  collectors  of  these  rents  and  duties  must  be  Deacons  or 
Treasurers,  appointed  from  year  to  year  in  every  Kirk  ; — the  Deacons  must 
distribute  no  part  of  that  which  is  collected,  hut  hy  command  of  the  Ministers 
and  Elders ;  and  they  may  command  nothing  to  be  delivered,  but  as  the  Kirk 
hath  before  determined,"  &c. — First  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  viii.  §  8. 

"  If  any  extraordinary  sums  be  to  be  delivered,  then  must  the  Ministers, 
Elders  and  Deacons  consult,  whether  the  deliverance  of  such  sums  doth  stand 
with  the  common  utility  of  the  Kirk  or  not,  and  if  they  do  universally  conde- 
scend and  agree  upon  the  affirmative  or  negative,  then — they  may  do  as  best 
seems  ;  but  if  there  be  any  controversy  among  themselves,  the  whole  Kirk  must 
be  made  privy  ;  and  that  the  matter  be  proponed,  and  the  reasons,  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Kirk,  with  the  Minister's  consent,  shall  prevail." — First  Book  of 
Discipline,  ch.  viii.  §  9.     What  have  we  here  but  the  Deacons'  Court  again? 

"  Their  office  and  power  is  to  receive  and  to  distribute  the  haill  ecclesiasti- 
cal goods,  unto  them  to  whom  they  are  appointed.  This  they  ought  to  do  ac- 
cording to  the  judgment  and  appointment  of  the  Presbyteries  or  Elderships," 
&.C. — Second  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  viii   §  3. 

"  For  officers  in  a  single  congregation,  there  ought  to  be  one  at  the  least,  both 
to  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine,  and  to  rule"  (that  is,  there  must  be  a  Pastor). 
♦'  It  is  also  requisite  that  there  should  be  others  to  join  in  government"  (that  is, 
there  must  be  Elders).  "  And  likewise,  it  is  requisite,  that  there  be  others  to 
take  special  care  for  the  relief  of  the  poor"  (that  is,  there  must  be  Deacons). 


174  NOTES. 

"  These  officers  are  to  meet  together  at  convenient  and  set  times,  for  the  well- 
ordering  of  the  affairs  of  that  congregation,  each  according  to  his  office"  (that  is, 
there  must  be  a  Deacons'  Court,  consisting  of  Pastor,  Elders,  and  Deacons). 
"  It  is  most  expedient  that,  in  these  meetings,  one  whose  office  is  to  labor  in  the 
word  and  doctrine  do  moderate  in  their  proceedings"  (that  is,  the  Pastor  should 
preside  in  the  Deacons'  Court). — Form  of  Preshyterial  Church  Government, 
agreed  upon  at  Westminster ,  and  ratified  by  Act  of  Assembly,  1645. 

The  fourth  and  final  step  in  the  argument  is,  that  as  it  is  now  manifestly 
competent,  both  on  scriptural  and  constitutional  grounds,  that  the  superior 
office-bearers  of  the  church  should  assist  in  administering  her  temporal  affairs, 
so  it  is  expedient  and  necessary,  in  present  circumstances,  that  their  right  and 
power  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  Deacons  should  be  recognized,  and  the 
exercise  thereof  provided  for  and  regulated  by  the  church.  A  moment's  con- 
sideration will  show  this.  Previous  to  the  Disruption,  the  temporalities  of  the 
church  were  chiefly  administered  by  the  civil  courts.  The  whole  of  her  pro- 
perty was  in  their  hands.  The  amount  of  stipends  was  fixed  by  them.  They 
decided,  in  the  last  resort,  as  to  the  repair  and  building  of  manses,  of  places  of 
worship,  and  in  every  question  as  to  schools.  Now,  all  is  changed.  All  these 
matters  are  in  the  church's  hands.  And  they  are  matters  of  great  importance, 
although  secular  in  their  nature.  The  wrong  adjustment  of  them  would  be 
hurtful  to  the  highest  interests  of  religion.  To  arrange  and  settle  them  in  a 
proper  manner  often  requires  weight  of  character — always  wisdom,  experience, 
and  knowledge  of  men  and  things.  Plainly,  then,  it  would  be  gross  infatua- 
tion not  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  Elders  in  regard  to  them.  In  many  of  our 
country  congregations  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  church  would  go  to  wreck,  if 
the  Minister  and  Elders  were  to  let  them  alone  :  and  in  all  our  congregations 
it  would  be  extremely  injudicious  not  to  take  the  benefit  of  the  services  of  the 
Elders,  who  always  comprehend  a  large  proportion  of  the  gravest,  the  most  sa- 
gacious, and  the  most  influential  of  our  members.  If,  indeed,  it  were  unlaw- 
ful to  give  the  Elders  any  voice  as  to  secular  things,  no  expediency,  however 
urgent,  could  warrant  the  church  in  doing  it.  But  it  is  not  unlawful.  Scrip- 
ture authorizes  it.  The  constitution  requires  it.  We  think  the  Act  of  the  late 
Assembly,  on  this  subject,  not  only  suited  to  the  position  of  the  church,  but 
sound  in  the  principle  on  which  it  proceeds.  It  gives  the  Elder  no  more  pow- 
er than  belongs  to  him  by  the  Word  of  God,  and  our  ancient  laws.  And,  if  it 
is  fairly  and  patiently  wrought,  we  anticipate  the  best  results. 


Note  B. 

Proofs  that  the  Laity  were  in  primitive  times  represented  in  all  the  Councils 
of  the  Church  by  delegates  of  their  appointment. 

We  are  happy  to  present  the  following  elaborate  testimony  as  collated  by 
the  Rev.  Thomas  John  Young,  of  John's  Island,  South  Carolina  : 


NOTES.  175 

The  primitive  Councils  were  composed  of  the  Clergy  and  Laity.  The  first 
Council  of  which  we  have  any  account,  was  that  held  for  the  election  of  a  suc- 
cessor to  the  traitor  Judas.  (Acts  1 :  15.)  It  was  evidently  composed  of  the 
Clergy  and  Laity.  "  The  number  of  names  together  were  about  an  hundred 
and  twenty."^  The  next  Council,  if  it  may  be  called  a  Council,  was  for  the 
choice  of  Deacons.  (Acts  6:  2,  «fec.)  "The  multitude  of  the  Disciples" 
elected,  and  the  Apostles  ordained.  The  third  and  last  Council  mentioned  in 
Scripture,  (for  I  cannot  consider  the  meeting  of  St.  Paul  with  St.  James  and 
the  Elders  of  Jerusalem,  related  in  Acts  21,  as  a  Council  of  the  Church,)  is  that 
of  which  we  have  an  account  in  Acts  15.  Here,  too,  we  find  the  Clergy  and 
Laity  assembled  and  deciding  upon  the  questions  proposed  for  consideration. 
For  although  in  the  6th  verse,  the  Apostles  and  Elders  only  are  mentioned  as 
"  coming  together,"  yet  what  follows,  teaches  us  that  the  Laity  were  there  also, 
and  consenting  to  that  which  was  determined  upon.  In  the  12th  verse  it  is 
said  "  all  the  multitude  kept  silence."  In  the  22d  verse,  "  Then  pleased  it  the 
Apostles  and  Elders,  with  the  whole  Church."  And  in  the  23d  verse,  the  let- 
ters go  forth  v^th  the  superscription,  "  the  Apostles,  and  Elders,  and  Brethren 
send  greeting."  So  much  for  the  Councils  of  which  mention  is  made  in  the 
word  of  God. 

In  noticing  the  succeeding  Councils,  we  must  distinguish  the  different  kinds 
which  were  held  ;  for  it  is  only  with  one  of  them  that  we  are  now  concerned 
There  were  General  or  (Ecumenical  Councils,  Patriarchal  or  Diocesan,  Provin- 
cial and  Consistorial  Synods. 

Whether  any  other  than  Bishops  or  their  proxies  voted  in  the  General 
Councils  has  not  been  decided.  If  we  take  the  Covmcil  of  Nice,  the  first  Gen 
eral  Council,  as  an  example,  it  is  certain,  according  to  Eusebius  and  Socrates, 
that  Presbyters,  Deacons  and  Laics  were  present  and  took  part  in  the  dis- 
cussions.^ The  probability  is  that  they  also  voted.  But  granting  that  they  did 
not ;  then  the  Bishops  may  be  considered  as  representing  the  Clergy,  and  the 
Emperor,  without  whose  decree  the  acts  of  General  Councils  were  not  binding, 
as  representing  the  Laity .^ 


1)  Supposing  that  the  whole  number  of  the  seventy  disciples  were  present,  these,  with 
the  eleven  Apostles,  would  make  but  81  of  the  120.  There  must  have  been,  then,  at  least 
39  of  the  Laity  present. 

2)  "  But  in  this  present  quire  there  was  a  multitude  of  Bishops,  which  exceeded  the 
number  of  250.  But  the  number  of  the  Presbyters  ared  Deacons  who  followed  them,  of  the 
Acoluthi,  and  of  many  other  persons,  was  not  to  be  comprehended."  Eus.  Ec.  His.  lib.  iii.  c. 
8.  Eng.  Trans. 

"  There  were  also  present  a  great  many  Laics,  well  skilled  in  logic,  ready  to  assist, 
each  their  own  party,"  *  *  *  «  Against  these  [the  patrons  of  Arius's  opinions,] 
Athanasius,  who  was  then  but  a  Deacon  of  the  Church  of  Alexandria,  contended  vigorously." 
Socrates  Ec.  His.  lib.   i.  c.  8.    Eng.  Trans. 

In  the  General  Council  of  Constantinople  three  Presbyters  subscribe  among  the  Bishops. 
See  Con.  Constant.  Tom.  p.  297.  Bingham  lib.  ii.  c.  19,  $  13,  says  that  Habertus  gives  several 
other  instances  out  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  2d  of  Nice,  8th  Council,  against  Photiua 
and  others.    See  also  Jewel's  Apology,  c.  vi.  $  12. 

3)  See  Barrow,  Pop.  Supremacy.    Supposition  vi.  $  3,  page  200,  edition  A.  D.  1700. 


176  NOTES. 

That  others,  besides  Bishops,  sat  and  voted  in  Patriarchal  and  Provincial 
Synods,  (the  latter  corresponding  to  our  General  Convention,)  is  demonstrable 
from  ancient  history  and  the  acts  of  those  Synods.^     The  evidence  for  which,  it 

1)  "  Upon  this  account  [the  Novatian  schism]  a  very  great  Synod  was  assembled  at 
Rome,  consisting  of  sixty  Bishops  ;  but  of  Presbyters  and  Deacons  the  number  was  greater." 
A.  "D.  251.     Eus.  Ec.  Hist.  lib.  vi.  c.  43.    Eng.  Trans. 

"  These  men  [referring  to  some  who  had  been  carried  away  by  the  Novatian  schism,  but 
were  now  returning  to  the  Church]  *  *  divulged  all  his  subtle  devices  and  vilianies  *  *  in 
the  presence  both  of  a  sufficient  number  of  Bishops,  and  also  of  a  great  many  Presbyters 
and  Laics."    Com.  Ep.  ad  Fab.  Eus.  Ec.  H.  lib.  vi.  c.  43.     Eng.  Trans. 

At  the  Council  of  Antioch,  held  A.  D.  269  or  270,  Presbyters,  Deacons  and  Laics  were 
present.  Eusebius,  lib.  vii.  c.  28,  after  mentioning  the  names  of  several  of  the  Bishops,  says, 
"  and  a  great  many  more  may  be  reckoned  :  who  together  with  Presbyters  and  Deacons,  wore 
convened  in  the  aforesaid  city,  &c.  &c."  The  Circular  letter  of  that  Council  runs  in  the 
name  of  certain  Bishops  and  Presbyters,  (whose  names  are  given,)  and  of  "  all  the  rest  of  the 
Bishops  of  the  neighboring  cities  and  provinces  which  are  with  us,  the  Presbyters,  and  Dea- 
cons,audlhe  Churches  of  Ood.^'     Eus.  Ec.  His.  lib.  vii.  c.  30. 

"  We  ought  to  take  notice,"  says  Valesius,  in  a  note  on  the  above  passage,  "of  the  in- 
scription of  this  Epistle  :  For  wo  find  here,  not  the  names  of  Bishops  only,  but  also  of  Pres- 
byters and  Deacons,  and  of  the  Laity  also.  The  same  we  may  see  in  the  acts  of  the  Council 
of  Carthage  [A.  D.  256],  in  which  Cyprian  was  President,  and  in  the  Council  of  JEZiicm" 
[A  D.  305]. 

Council  of  Eliberis,  A.  D.  305.  "  Residentibus  etiam  36  (al  26)  Presbyteris,  adslantibuB 
Diaconibus  et  oinniplebe."    Con.  Elib.  Procem. 

Council  of  Aries,  A.  D.  314.  In  the  Imperial  rescript,  by  which  Constantine  summoned 
Chrestus,  Bishop  of  Syracuse,  to  this  Council,  we  find  the  following: — 

^'  Kv^ev^ai  aeavToJ  Kai  6vo  yi  Ttvas  tuv  Ik  tov  6svT£pov^Jp6pov"  associating  with  you  two 
of  the  second  throne  [or  order].     Eus.  Ec.  Hist.  lib.  x.  c.  5. 

The  names  of  most  of  the  Bishops  who  attended  the  Council  of  Aries  are  lost,  as  well  as 
many  of  those  of  the  Presbyters;  "yet  the  names  of  15  Presbyter's  are  yet  remaining." 
Bingham  lib.  ii.  c.  19,$  12.     Con.  Arelat.  i.  in  catalogo  eorum  consilio  interfuerunt. 

Council  at  Rome,  under  Hilary,  A.  D.  465.  "  Residentibus  etiam  unitersik  PresbyteriSf 
adstantibus  quoque  Diaconis,  &c.  &c."     Con.  Rom,  ap.  Justel.  Tom.  i.  page  2-50. 

Council  at  Rome,  under  Felix,  A.  D.  487.  The  names  of  seventy-six  Presbyters  are  men- 
tioned that  sat  together  with  the  Bishops  in  Council,  the  Deacons  standing  by  them,  &c 
Con.  Rom.  ap.  Justel.     Tom.  i.,p.  255 

Council  at  Rome,  under  Symmachus,  A.  D.  499.  Sixty-seven  Presbyters  and  six  Dea- 
cons subscribed  in  the  very  same  form  of  words  as  the  Bishops  did.  "  Subscripserunt  Pres- 
byteri  numero  67.  Coelius  Laurentius  Archipresbyter  tituli  Praxedis  hie  subscripsi  et  con- 
eensi  Synodalibus  constitutis,  atque  in  hac  me  profiteor  manere  sententia,"  &.c.  Con. 
Rom.  ap.  Justel.    Tom.  1.,  p.  259. 

Council  at  Rome,  under  Symmachus,  A.  D.  502.  Thirty-six  Presbyters  are  named. 
"  Residentibus  etiam  Presbyteris,  Projectitio,  Martino,  &c.  Adstantibus  quoque  Diaconis^ 
&c.     Con.  Rom.  ap.  Just.     Tom.  i.,p.  261. 

Council  at  Bracara,  A.  D.  563.  "  Considentibus  simul  Episcopis,  preesentibus  quoque 
Presbyteris,  adstantibusque  ministris  vel  universo  Clero."    Con.  Bracar.  i. 

Council  at  Toledo,  A.  D.  589.  "  Convenientibus  Episcopis  inEcclesia;  considentibus 
Presbyteris,  adstantibus  Diaconis,"  &c.     Con.  Tolet.  i. 

In  the  Appendix  to  Chidley's  edition  of  Jewel's  Apology,  I  find  the  "ancient  form  for 
holding  Church  Councils."  "It  is  given  by  Isidore,  and  from  him  by  Hardouin."  I  sub- 
join an  extract  from  it. 

"  The  order  according  to  which  the  sacred  Synod  should  be  held  in  the  name  of  God. 

"  At  the  first  hour  of  the  day,  before  sunrise,  let  all  be  cast  out  of  the  church ;  and  the 
entrance  being  barred,  let  all  the  door-keepers  stand  at  the  one  door,  through  which  the  Pre 


NOTES.  177 

is  not  necessary  to  cite,  as  our  concern  is  with  a  still  lower  Council,  correspond- 
ing to  our  Diocesan  Conventions.  As,  however,  our  Conventions,  whether 
General  or  Diocesan,  are  formed  on  the  model  of  the  Convocation  of  the  Church 
in  England,  it  will  be  well,  in  this  stage  of  our  argument,  to  inquire  how  that 
body  was  constituted. 

It  was  divided  into  two  houses.  The  upper  house,  prior  to  the  Reformation, 
was  composed  of  Bishops,  Spiritual  Vicars  of  absent  Bishops,  Custodes  Spir- 
ituals of  vacant  Bishoprics,  Abbots  and  Priors.  The  lower  house,  of  Deans, 
Archdeacons,  a  Proctor  for  each  Chapter,  a  Proctor  for  each  Convent,  and  two 
Proctors  for  all  the  Clergy  (totumque  Clerum)  in  each  Diocese.^  After  the 
Reformation,  the  upper  house  was  composed  of  the  Bishops  ;  and  the  lower 
house  of  the  Deans,  Archdeacons,  a  Proctor  for  every  Chapter,  and  two  Proc- 
tors for  the  Clergy  of  every  Diocese.  Here  all  the  Clergy  of  every  grade  were 
represented  ;  and  the  Laity  exercised  their  suffrage,  not  in  the  Convocation, 
but  through  the  Parliament ;  for  no  act  of  the  Convocation  was  binding  on  the 
whole  Church,  until  confirmed  by  an  act  of  Parliament,  or  by  the  King. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  consider  the  fourth  kind  of  Councils — the  Consis- 
torial  or  Diocesan. 

By  a  Diocesan  Council  or  Convention,  T  mean  that  body,  to  which,  with 
the  Bishop,  is  intrusted  the  conduct  of  the  principal  affairs  of  a  Diocese  ;  and 
these  affairs,  I  contend,  were  managed  by  the  Bishop,  the  whole  Clergy,  and  the 
Laity.  These  two  last  being  always  distinguished  from  each  other,  and  acting 
personally,  or  by  their  representatives. 

It  is  a  common  maxim,  drawn  from  the  opinions  of  the  Fathers,  that  "  quid 
ad  omnes  pertinet,  omnium  consensu  fieri  debet" — what  concerns  all  should  be 
done  by  the  consent  of  all.     Cornelius,  Bishop  of  Rome,  A.  D.  251,  in  one  of 


lates  are  to  enter.  And  let  all  the  Bishops,  assembling,  go  in  together  and  take  their  seats 
according  to  the  time  of  their  consecration.  When  all  the  Bishops  have  come  in,  and  taken 
their  places,  next  let  those  Presbyters  be  summoned,  whose  admission  the  nature  of  the  case 
in  hand  seems  to  warrant ;  and  let  no  Deacon  intrude  himself  among  them.  After  this  may 
be  admitted  the  more  eminent  of  the  Deacons,  whose  presence  is  required  by  the  regular 
form  of  proceedings.  And  a  circle  being  made  of  the  Bishops'  seats,  Jet  the  Presbyters  sit 
down  behind  them  ;  those,  namely,  whom  the  Metropolitan  has  selected  to  be  his  assessors, 
such,  of  course,  as  may  act  with  him  both  in  judging  and  pronouncing  sentence.  Let  the 
Deacons  stand  in  sight  of  the  Bishops  ;  then  let  the  Laity  also  enter,  who,  by  choice  of  the 
Council,  have  obtained  the  privilege  of  being  there.  Moreover,  the  notaries  must  also  come 
in,  as  is  directed  by  the  regular  forms  for  reading  documents  and  taking  notes.  Then  the 
doors  being  fastened,  and  the  Prelates  sitting  in  long  silence,  and  lifting  up  their  whole  heart 
to  the  Lord,  the  Archdeacon  shall  say — '  Pray  ye  !'  and  presently,  &c.  &c." 

From  the  preceding  testimony,  taken  together,  it  is  evident  that  both  the  Clergy  and  La- 
ity had  voice  in  Patriarchal  and  Provincial  Synods.  The  principle  which  placed  them 
there  will  appear  in  the  course  of  the  following  remarks.  The  manner  of  their  election, 
and  the  influence  wh  ch  they  exercised  in  these  Synods  varied  with  the  varying  condition  of 
the  church,  and  with  the  views  held  at  different  periods  and  indifferent  countries  of  the  right 
of  the  governed  in  framing  the  laws  by  which  they  were  to  be  affected. 

1)  See  the  King's  writ  to  Archbishop  Warham  for  summoning  a  Convocation  ;  and  the 
Archbishop's  writ  to  the  Bishop  of  London  for  the  same  purpose.  Records  iii.  and  iv.  Bur- 
net's Hist,  Ref.    See  also  Addenda  i.  lame  work. 


178  NOTES. 

his  Epistles  to  Cyprian,  uses  an  expression  very  like  this :  "  Quid  circa  perso- 
nam eorum  observari  deberet,  consensu  omnium  statueretur."^  That  which 
concerns  their  office  should  be  determined  by  the  consent  of  all.  And  by  this 
principle,  Cyprian,  in  his  Epistle  ad  Clerum,  declares  his  determination  to 
abide :  "  That  we  might  order  and  correct  those  things  which  the  common  in- 
terest demands  concerning  the  government  of  the  Church,  they  having  been 
considered  in  a  Council  of  very  many.  *  *  *  *  On  my  first  entrance  on  my 
Bishopric,  I  determined  to  do  nothing  on  my  private  judgment,  without  your 
advice  and  the  consent  of  the  people.  But  when,  by  the  favor  of  God,  I  shall 
have  come  to  you,  we  will  act  together.""^  Such  was  his  determination,  and 
such  his  practice  in  very  many  instances,^  It  was  the  principle  which  prevailed 
in  primitive  times,  and  which,  if  now  acted  upon  in  this  assembly,  would  gain 
all,  and  more  than  all  that  is  contended  for. 

That  the  Church,  that  is,  the  Clergy  and  Laity,  gave  their  suffi-age  ia  the 
choice  of  these  their  officers,  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  is  evident  from  the 
cases  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made — the  election  of  a  successor  to 
Judas,  and  the  choice  of  the  seven  Deacons  ; — and  none  can  read  the  Epistles 
to  Timothy  and  Titus,  without  being  convinced  that  the  consent  of  the  Church 
was  necessary  for  the  ordination  of  the  Bishops  and  Deacons,  v/hose  qualifica- 
tions for  office  are  therein  recorded.  Of  the  practice  of  the  Church  in  the  ages 
succeeding  the  Apostles,  we  take  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Wall  of  the  Church  in 
England,  whose  knowledge  of  Christian  antiquity  none  can  question,  and  using 
his  language,  say,  "  That  the  primitive  Church  in  the  age  next  to  the  Apostles 
always  made  use  of  the  suffi-age  of  the  people  in  the  choice  of  their  officers  ; 
not  only  of  Deacons,  but  of  their  Presbyters,  and  especially  of  their  Bishops. 
The  Bishop  of  any  Diocese  appointed  or  ordained  such  Presbyters  as  the 
people  by  their  general  suffi-age  appproved  of:  and  when  any  Bishop  died,  the 
Clergy  of  that  Diocese  with  the  consent  of  the  people,  chose  another,  commonly 
one  of  their  own  body  ;  and  then  some  of  the  neighboring  Bishops  came,  and 
laying  on  hands,  with  public  prayer,  ordained  him.  And  both  these  things, 
the  election  of  the  Clergy  and  people,  and  the  ordination  of  some  Bishop  or 
Bishops,  were  counted  essential  to  the  being  or  right  of  a  Bishop."  ***** 
**  This,"  he  adds,  "  was  the  usage  and  practice  of  the  whole  Greek  and  Latin 
Church  for  a  thousand  years  and  more,  and  that  continued  constantly  without 
interruption,  except  two  or  three  encroachments  ;   such  as  in  so  long  a  space 

1)  Cornelius  Ep.  46  (al    49)  ad  Cyp.  p.  92, 

2)  Cyprian  Ep.  6  (al  14)  ad  Clerum.  "  Ut  ea  qu8B  circa  Ecclesise  gubernaculum  utilltas 
communis  exposcit,  tractare  simul,  et  plurimorum  conailio  examinata  limare  possemus.  *  * 
Q,uando  a  primordio  Episcopatus  mei  statuerim,  nihil  sine  consilio  vostro  et  sine  consensu 
plebis  mea  privata  sententia  gcrere  :  Sed  cum  ad  vos  per  Dei  gratium  renero— in  commune 
tractabimus. 

3)  See  Cyp.  Ep.  33  (al  38)  ad  Clerum.  "  In'ordinationibus  Clericis  aolemus  vos  ante  con- 
sulere,  et  mores  ac  merita  singulorum  communi  consilio  ponderare."  Seo  also  Ep.  24  (al 
29)  ad  Cler.— also  Ep.  34  ad  Cler.  "  He  would  not,"  says  Bingham,  lib.  ii.  c.  19,  $  8,  "  so 
much  as  ordain  a  sub-deacon,  or  reader,  without  their  consent."  Seo  also  Cyprian's  Epis- 
tles, referred  to  and  quoted  by  Barrow  in  his  "  Treatise  on  the  Pope's  Supremacy,"  Sup.  v. 
$  10,  page  159  of  the  folio  Edition,  A.  D.  1700. 


NOTES.  179 

are  found  in  the  history  of  any  law,  rule  or  practice  whatsoever,  whether  human 
or  Divine-"* 

The  testimony  of  the  Fathers  and  ancient  Councils  is  conclusive  on  this 
point.  This  testimony  is  familiar,  and  I  will  not  occupy  time  by  citing  more 
than  two  or  three  witnesses,  unless  the  fact  be  disputed  and  the  evidence  called 
for.2  Clement,  A.  D.  65,  whose  name  St.  Paul  tells  us  was  "written  in  the 
Book  of  Life,"  who  conversed  with  and  was  instructed  by  the  Apostles  them- 
selves, bears  his  testimony  to  the  fact  that  the  Clergy  were  chosen  "  icith  the 
consent  of  the  whole  Church."^  Cornelius,  Bishop  of  Rome,  A.  D.  250,  in  his 
Epistle  to  Fabius,  Bishop  of  Antioch,  incidentally  mentions  a  fact  which  is  per- 
fectly conclusive.  Something  in  the  baptism  of  Novatian  had  been  considered 
irregular.  On  this  account  he  was  '■'  denied  orders,"  says  Cornelius,  "  by  all  the 
Clergy  and  many  of  the  Laity"  and  "  the  Bishop  entreated  license  might  be 
granted  him  to  ordain  that  one  person."*  We  have  the  testimony,  to  the  same 
effect,  of  Origen,  A.  D.  230,^  Cyprian,  A.  D,  250,«  Gregory  Nazianzen,  A.  D. 


1)  "  Critical  Remarks"  upon  some  select  passages  of  Scripture,  published  in  1730. 

Dr.  Barrow  says,  "  The  general  practice  was  this  :  The  neighbor  Bishops  (being  advertised 
of  a  vacancy  or  want  of  a  Bishop,)  did  convene  at  the  place  ;  then  in  the  congregation,  the 
CZer^  of  the  place  did  propowruf  a  person,  yielding  their  attestation  to  his  fitness  for  the 
charge  ;  which  the  people  hearing,  did  give  their  suffrages,  accepting  him,  if  no  weighty  cause 
was  objected  against  him  ;  or  refusing  him  if  such  cause  did  appear :  Then  upon  their  re- 
commendation and  acceptance,  the  Bishops  present  did  adjoin  their  approbation  and  consent ; 
then  by  their  devotions  and  solemn  laying  on  of  their  hands,  they  did  ordain  or  consecrate 
him  to  the  Function."     Pop.  Suprem.  Sup.  vi.  §  6,  p.  203  fol. 

Again,  he  says,  "  We  may,  by  the  way,  observe,  that  in  the  first  times  they  [Roman 
Bishops,]  had  not  so  much  as  an  absolute  power  of  ordaining  a  Presbyter  in  the  Church 
of  his  own  city,  without  leave  of  the  Clergy  and  people."    Page  208,  fol.  ed.  of  1700. 

Bishop  Bilson  says,  "  In  the  Primitive  Church  the  people  did  choose,  name,  elect  and  de- 
cree, as  well  as  the  Clergy."     Perpet.  Gov.  Ch.  c.  15. 

Dr.  Cave  says,"  At  all  ordinations,  especially  of  superior  ofiiceis,  the  people  of  the  place 
were  always  present,  and  ratified  the  action  with  their  approbation  and  consent."  Prim. 
Christ,  p.  240. 

2)  Some  of  this  evidence,  for  much  of  which  I  am  indebted  to  Barrow,  Bingham,  Valerius, 
c.  &c.,  will  be  found  in  the  succeeding  notes. 

3)  Clem.  Rom.  Ep.  i.  ad  Cor.  $  44,  Archbishop  Wake's  trans. 

4)  Cor.  ad.  Fab.  Euseb.  lib.  vi.  c.  43.  "  'Ytto  -Kavros  rov  K\!ipov,  dWa  kuI  \aiKoiv 
TroXXcJi'." 

5)  Origen  in  the  close  of  his  last  book  against  Celsus,  speaking  expressly  of  the  consti- 
tution of  Churches  or  cities  of  God,  affirms  of  the  rulers  of  the  Church,  that  they  are 
"  eKXcyouevoi,  chosen  to  their  office  by  the  Churches  whichthey  ruleJ^ 

6)  Ep.  52  (al  55).  "  Factus  est  autem  Cornelius  Episcopus  de  Dei  et  Christi  ejus  judicio, 
de  Clericorum  pene  omnium  testimonio,  de  Plebis,  quae  tunc  adfuit,  sufFragio."  Cornelius 
wai  made  bishop  by  the  judgment  of  God  and  his  Christ,  by  the  testimony  of  almost  all  the 
Clergy,  by  the  suffrage  of  the  people  who  were  then  present. 

Ep.  68  (al  67)  ad  frat.  Hispan.  "  Ordinatio  justa  et  legitima,  quae  omnium  suffragio  et 
judicio  fuerit  examinata."  That  ordination  is  just  and  lawful  which  shall  have  been  deter- 
mined by  the  suffrage  and  sentence  of  all. 

Ep.  68.  A.  D.  257,  in  the  name  of  the  African  Synod.  "Plebs  ipsa  maxime  habent  pro- 
testatera  vel  eligendi  dignoa  sacerdotes,  vel  iudignos  recusandi."  The  people  have  the  power 
either  of  choosing  worthy  priests,  or  of  rejecting  those  who  are  unworthy. 


180  NOTES. 

370,*  Ambrose,  A.  D.  374,«  Jerome,  A.  D,  378,'  Siricius,"A.  D.  385,*  Theo- 
doret,  A.  D.  423,=*  Celestin,  A.  D.  423 ,«  Socrates,  A.  D.  439,'^  Sozomen,  A.  D. 
440,^  Leo  Magnus,  A.  D.  440.^  This  last,  after  stating  the  Church's  rule,  lays 
down  also  the  principle  on  which  it  was  based  : — "  Qui  prcBfuturus  est  omni- 
bus, ah  omnibus  eligatur." — He  who  is  to  preside  over  all,  should  be  chosen  by 
all. 

The  Councils    of  Carthage,  under   Cyprian,  A.  D.  256,*°  Nice,  A.  D. 

1)  Gregory  Nazianzen  commends  the  election  of  Athanasiua  as  being  after  "  the  exam- 
ple of  the  Apostles,  because  he  was  chosen  xpfifov  rov  \aov  navrdi — by  the  suffrage  of  all  the 
people.     Gr.  Naz.  Orat.  21. 

Speaking,  in  his  life  of  Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  of  Carbonarius,  Bishop  of  Comana,  he 
says  that  "  although  pointed  out  by  special  Divine  revelation,  yet  before  he  was  ordained  he 
was  unanimously  chosen  by  the  whole  Church.''    Tom.  3,  p.  502. 

2)  Ep.  82.  "  Electio  et  vocatio  qu8e  fit  a  tota  Ecclcsia  vere  et  certe  est  Divina  vocatio 
ad  munus  Episcopi."  The  election  and  calling  which  is  made  by  the  whole  church,  is  truly 
and  certainly  a  Divine  call  to  the  office  of  a  Bishop. 

Amb.  Com.  in  Luc.  lib.  viii.  c.  17,  addressing  the  people  of  Milan  says — "  Vos  enim  mihi 
estis  Parentes,  qui  sacerdotium  detuUstis :  Vos,  inquam,  Filii  vel  Parcntesj  Filii  singuli,  uni- 
versi  Parentes."  Ye  are  my  Fathers  wAo  choseme  to  be  Bishop :  Ye,  I  say,  are  both  my  chil- 
dren and  Fathers  j  Children  in  particular,  Fathers  all  together. 

3)  In  Ezek.  lib.  x.  c.  33.  "  Speculator  Ecclesia;,  vel  Episcopus  vel  Presbyter,  qui  a  Pop- 
vXo  electus  est."  The  watchman  of  the  Church,  either  a  Bishop  or  a  Presbyter,  who  was 
chosen  by  the  people.'" 

4)  Ep.  i.  ad.  Himer.  Tarracon.  c.  10.  "  Presbyterium  vel  Episcopatum,  si  eum  Cleri  ac 
Plebis  evocaverit  electio,  non  immerito  societur."  If  the  election  of  the  Clergy  and  peopU 
shall  have  called  him  to  the  Presbytership  or  Episcopate,  he  is  deservedly  associated. 

5)  Lib.  i.  c.  7.  He  says  of  Eustathius,  Bishop  of  Antioch,  «  ip^,,,  koivu  KarrivayKaaav 
dpxt£p£i:i  T£  Kol  upeTs  kuI  liTas  b  Xews."  Both  the  Chief  Priests  [Bishops]  and  Priests  and 
all  the  people  compelled  him  by  a  common  suffrage. 

6)  Ep.  2.  c.  5.  "  NuUus  invitis  detur  Episcopus.  Cleri,  plebis,  et  ordinis  consensu^s  et 
desiderium  requiratur."  Let  no  Bishop  be  given  to  the  unwilling.  The  consent  and  desire 
of  the  Clergy  and  people  is  to  be  required. 

7)  Lib.  vi.  c.  2.  He  says  that  Chrysostom  was  chosen  xfrj  liafiaTL  koiv^  hnov  irdvrtov, 
K^fipov  TC  Kul  \aov — ^y  the  common  vote  of  all,  both  Clergy  and  Laity. 

8)  Sozomen  speaking  of  Chrysostom,  says,  "  The  people  and  ^Clergy  having  voted  it,  the 
Emperor  gave  his  consent." 

9)  Ep.  84  ad  Anast.  c.  5.  "  Cum  de  summi  Sacerdotis  electione  tractabitur,  ille  omnibus 
prscponatur,  quem  Cleri  Plebisque  consensus  concoxA\tGX  postularit;  ita  ut  si  in  aliam  forte 
personam  paitium  se  vota  diviserint,  Metropolitani  judicio  is  alteri  prseferatur  qui  majoribus 
et  studiis  juvatur  et  meritis,"  &c.  When  it  is  to  be  determined  concerning  the  election  of  a 
Bishop,  let  him  be  preferred  to  all,  whom  iha  joint  consent  of  the  Clergy  and  people  shall  have 
demanded  ;  but  if,  by  chance,  the  votes  of  the  partiss  shall  have  been  divided,  he  should  be 
prefeired,  by  the  decision  of  the  Metropolitan,  who  is  supported  by  the  greater  number  of 
rotes  and  the  higher  merits,"  &c. 

Ep.  89  ad  Epis.  Vien.  "  Expectarentur  certe  vota  civium,  teatimonia.  populorum  ;  qu»- 
reretur  honoratorum  arbitrium,  electio  Clericorum.  Q,ui  praefuturus  est  omnibus,  ab  omnibus 
eligatur."  Certainly  the  votes  of  the  ciijze»is,  the  testimony  oixhepeople  should  have  been 
waited  for ;  the  will  of  the  gentry,  ihe  election  of  the  Clergy  should  have  been  sought.  He 
that  is  to  preside  over  all,  should  be  chosen  by  all. 

10)  Cyprian  Ep.  68  (al  67)  Synod.  Ep.  African.  Synod.  "  Plebs  ipsa  maxime  habet  potes- 
tatem  vel  eligendi  dignos  Sacerdotes,  vol  indignos  recusandi."  The  people  themselves  chiefly 
have  the  power  of  choosing  worthy  Priests,  or  refusing  the  unworthy. 


NOTES. 


181 


325,'  Antioch,  A.  D.  341,2  Alexandria  a.  D.  361  or  362,3  3d  of  Carthage,  A.  D. 
397,4  4th  of  Carthage,  A.  D.  399,*  Chalcedon,  A.  D.  451,«  Aries,  A.  D.  452,^ 
Auvergne  or  Clermont,  A.  D.  535,^  3d  of  Orleans,  A.  D.  538,*  5th  of  Orleans, 


1)  Synod.  Ep.  Con.  Nic.  Soc.  Ec.  His.  lib.  i.e.  9.  Eng.  Trans.  [Melitian  Bishopa]  "  shall 
have  no  power  to  propose  or  nominate  whom  they  please." 

"  And  if  it  shall  happen  that  some  of  those  who  now  hold  ecclesiastical  preferments  die, 
then  let  those  [Melitian  Bishops,  &c.]  ****  be  preferred  to  the  dignities  of  the  deceased; 
provided  that  they  shall  appear  worthy,  and  that  the  people  shall  freely  elect  them;  provided 
also  that  the  Bishop  of  Alexandria  doth,  by  his  suffrage,  raiify  and  confirm  [the  people's 
election."] 

2)  Calv,  Instit.lib.  iv.  c.  4,  $  II,  says  of  this  Council,  "  Hoc  igitur  in  Concilio  Antioche- 
no  vetitum  est,  ne  quis  tnritis  ingeratur."  This  therefore  is  forbidden  by  the  Council  of 
Antioch,  that  any  one  should  be  forced  upon  those  unwilling  to  receive  him. 

'S)  Bingham,  lib,  iv.  c.  2,  $  11.  "  The  Eusebian  party  made  it  an  objection  against  him 
[Athanasius],  that  he  had  not  the  choice  of  the  people  :  but  the  Bishops  of  Egypt  assembled 
in  Synod,  in  their  Synodical  Epistle  do  with  great  earnestness  maintain  the  contrary,  assert- 
ing that  the  whole  multitude  of  the  people  of  the  Catholic  Church,  as  if  they  had  been  all 
united  in  one  soul  and  body,  cried  out  requiring  Athanasius  to  be  ordained  Bishop."  Ep. 
Synod.  Concil.  Alex.  ap.  Athen.  apol.  2,  t.  2,  p.  726.  Jlaj  h  Xadi — dvepooiv^  eKpa^ov, 
airovvrei  ' A.davdaiov  LKia-KOTTOv. 

4)  This  Council  decreed,  "  That  no  Clergyman  be  ordained,  who  has  not  been  examined 
by  the  Bishops,  and  approved  by  the  suffrages  of  the  people.'^  Curries'  Jus.  pop.  p.  306, 
1733. 

5)  Con.  Car.  4,  c  1.  "  Cum  consensu  Clericorum  et  Laicorum  et  conventu  totius  provincia) 
Episcoporum,  maximeque  Metropolitani  vel  auctoritate  vel  praesentia  ordinetur  Episcopus." 
A  Brshop  may  be  consecrated  by  the  consent  of  the  Clergy  and  Laity,  and  the  agreement  of  the 
Bishops  of  the  whole  Province,  and,  especially  by  either  the  autliority  or  presence  of  the 
Metropolitan. 

Can.  22.  "  Ut  Episcopus  sine  consilio  Clericorum  suorjtm  Clericos  non  ordinet ;  ita  ut 
civium  assensum  et  conniventiam  et  testimonium  quadrat."  A  Bishop  may  not  ordain 
Clergymen  without  the  consent  of  his  Clergy ;  and  he  shall  also  obtain  the  assent,  approbation 
and  testimony  of  the  citizens. 

Con.  Car.  4,  c.  3.  "  Presbyter  cum  ordinatur,  Episcopo  eum  benedicente  et  manum  su- 
per caput  ejus  lenente,  etiam  omnes  Presbyteri,  qui  praesentes  sunt,  manus  suas  juxta  man- 
um Episcopi  super  caput  illius  teneant,"  When  a  Presbyter  is  ordained,  the  Bishop  bless- 
ing him  and  holding  his  hand  upon  his  head,  let  all  the  Presbyters  also,  who  are  present,  hold 
their  hands  upon  his  head  near  the  hand  of  the  Bishop. 

6)  Act.  xi.  This  Council  declares  for  the  Ephesians  having  a  Bishop  chosen  by  all  the 
flock  whom  he  was  to  feed— "  Trapa  Travriov  nov  neWovTbJv  iroiyavtKrBai  iprjcpiaoncvui." 

Act  xii.  declares  that  a  Bishop  shall  be  settled  by  the  election  of  all  the  flock  to  be  fed — 
"  E^£7riAoy//j  TTUt/Toiv  Toiv  jieWovrutv  iromaveiaBai  ibtj^Kro^icvov." 

7)  Con.  Arela*.  2,  c.  .'54.  "  Placuit  in  ordinatione  Episcopi  hunc  ordinem  cus'odiri,  ut 
trea  ab  Episcopis  nominentur,  de  quibus  Clericivel  Cives  erga  unum  habcant  eligendi  potesta- 
tem."  This  order  must  be  observed  in  the  ordination  of  a  Bishop.  Three  shall  be  nomi- 
nated by  the  Bishops  ;  one  ofwhom  the  Clergy  and  citizens  shall  have  thepower  of  choosing. 

8)  Th  s  Council  determined  "  that  a  Bishop  should  be  raised  omnium  electione  et  non  pau- 
corum  favore — by  the  election  of  all,  and  not  by  the  favor  of  a  few."  Cur.  Jus.  pop.  p.  310, 
J  733. 

9)  Canon  3d  determined  "  that  the  Bishops  of  the  Province  should  be  chosen  by  the 
Clergy  and  People ;"  ass  going  the  reason,  "  Qui  prsefuturus  est  omnibus,  ab  omnibus  eliga- 
tur.''    He  who  is  to  preside  over  all,  should  be  chosen  by  all. 


182  NOTES. 

A.  D.  549,^  3d  of  Paris,  A.  D,  559,2  Barcelona,  A.  D.  599,^  4th  of  Toledo, 
A.  D.  633,*  2d  of  Cabilone,  A.  D.  649 ,5  3d  Constantinople,  A.  D.  680,6  all  tes- 
tify the  same  ;  so  that  we  may  fearlessly  lay  down,  as  maxims  of  antiquity,  the 
rules  already  quoted — "  Quid  ad  omnes  per  tinet,  omnium  consensu  fieri  debet;" 
"  Qui  prcefuturus  est  omnibus,  ab  omnibus  eligatur.'*  I  will  not  allow  my- 
self to  suppose,  even  for  a  moment,  that  any  here  present  will  reject  the  senti- 
ment expressed  by  the  "  judicious  Hooker."  "  For  of  this  thing,"  he  says,  "  no 
man  doubteth,  namely,  that  in  all  Societies,  Companies,  and  Corporations,  what 
severally  each  shall  be  bound  unto,  it  must  be  with  all  their  assents  ratified. 
Against  all  equity  it  were,  that  a  man  should  suffer  detriment  at  the  hands 
of  men,  for  not  observing  that  which  he  never  did,  either  by  himself  or  others, 
mediately  or  immediately  agree  unto.  *****  In  this  case  therefore  espe- 
cially, that  vulgar  axiom  is  of  force  :  '  Quod  omnes  tangit,  ab  omnibus  tractari 
et  approbari  debet.'  "''  I  cannot  also  but  hope  that  our  brethren  tif  the  Laity 
will  agree  to  take  the  converse  of  the  proposition  laid  down  by  Innocent,  A.  D. 
402,  quoted  by  the  same  Hooker — "  Sicut  Laid  jurisdictionem  Clericorum 
perturbare,  ita  Clerici  jurisdictionem  Laicorum  non  debent  minuere  " — and 
grant  that  as  the  Clergy  ought  not  to  abridge  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Laity,  so 
the  Laity  ought  not  to  take  away  the  rights  of  the  Clergy.^ 

1)  Canon  xi.  •'  Smit  antiqui  Canones  deereverunt,  nullus  invitis  Episcopus,  sed  nee  per 
oppresaionem  potentium  personarum  ad  consensum  faciendum  Gives  aut  Clerici,  quod  dici  ne- 
faa  esf,  inclinentur  "  As  the  ancient  Canons  have  decreed,  let  no  Bishop  be  given  to  those 
unwilling  to  receive  h'm.  Neither  let  the  citizens  or  Clergy  be  influenced,  which  it  is  un- 
lawful to  say  of  any,  to  give  their  consent,  by  the  oppression  of  great  men. 

2)  Con.  Par.  3.  "  Et  q  jia  in  aliquibus  rebus,  &c."  "  Because  in  some  things  tlie  ancient 
custom  is  neglected,  and  the  decrees  of  the  Canons  violated  ;  it  is  thouglit  good,  according  to 
the  ancient  custom,  that  the  decrees  of  the  Canons  be  observed,  and  that  no  Bishop  be  or- 
dained [Civibus  invitis]  if  the  citizens  be  unwilling,  nor  unless  he  be  heartily  invited  by 
the  election  of  the  people  and  Clergy,  and  by  the  command  of  the  Prince,  &c.  &c."  Cur.  Jus. 
pop.  p.  311,  1733. 

3)  Con.  Barcinon.  Can.  3.  By  this  Canon  it  was  decreed  that  the  Clergy  and  Laity  should 
nominate  three,  and  that  the  Metropolitan  and  Provincial  Bishops  should  cast  lots  which 
one  of  the  three  was  to  be  ordained.     Bingham,  lib.  iv.  c.  2.$  17. 

4)  This  Council  decreed  "  that  none  should  be  esteemed  a  Bishop,  but  he  that  was  e'w 
sen  by  the  Clergy  and  people  of  the  city,^'    Cur.  Jus.  pop.  p  311,  1733. 

5)  "  Si  quis  Epi.scupus  de  quacunque  civitaie  defunctus,  &c."  "  If  a  Bishop  in  any  city 
be  removed  by  death,  the  election  of  another  shall  not  be  but  by  the  neigliboring  Bishops, 
the  Clergy  and  his  own  citizens;  if  otherwise,  let  his  ordination  be  esteemed  void."  Cur. 
Jus.  pop.  p.  312. 

C)  Of  this  Council,  Calvin  says,  "  Adeo  autom  caverunt  sancti  Patres,  ne  ullo  pacto  im- 
minueretur  ha;c  populi  l.bertas,  ut  quum  Synodus  Universalis  Constantinopoli  congregata  Nec- 
torium  ordinarct,  id  noluerit  sine  totius  Clcri  et  populi  approbatione,  ut  sua  ad  Synoduni  Ro- 
manum  cpistola  testatum  es  ."  The  holy  Failiers  were  so  careful  that  this  privilege  of  the 
people  should  in  no  degree  be  diminished,  that  when  the  universal  Council  assembled  at 
Constantinople  wished  to  ordain  Nectorius,  it  could  not  be  done  without  the  consent  of  all  the 
Clergy  and  people  ;  as  is  testified  by  their  own  Ep  stle  to  the  Soman  Synod. 

7)  Ecc.  Pol.  lib.  viii.  p.  447.  Dobson's  Edit.  1S25. 

8)  It  is  interesting  to  trace  the  gradual  decline  of  the  fear  of  clerical  influence  in  this 
Diocese. 

In  the  Convention  of  1804,  it  was  determined  that  "on  the  business  which  should  come 


NOTES. 


Note  C. 


183 


The  tendency  of  Congregationalism. 

Pure  Congregationalism  we  believe  to  be  as  impracticable  in  the  chm-ch  as 
a  pure  democracy  in  the  state,  and  both  to  be  subversive  of  all  government  and 
society,  and  a  return  to  the  condition  of  nature,  or  of  families,  which  is  the  next 
thing  to  it.     Congregationalism,  as  it  now  exists,  has  so  far  allied  itself  to  the 

before  them,  the  Convention  should  vote  by  Parishes ;''  (Dalcho,  p.  488  j)  consequently  the 
Clerical  vote  was  merged  in  the  votes  of  the  Laity  ;  and  if  there  were  more  than  one  Lay- 
Delegate  from  a  Parish,  the  Clerical  vote  was  worth  nothing. 

In  1806,  the  '■  Rules  and  Regulations,  &c."  which  form  the  basis  of  our  present  Consti- 
tution, were  adopted.  By  Rule  IIL  (Dalcho,  p.  496.)  "  The  officiating  Clergy  of  the  Prot- 
Ep.  Churches  of  this  State  shall  be  deemed,  ez-officio,  members  of  this  Convention." 

In  1807,  it  having  been  ascertained  that  under  that  Rule  no  Clergyman  had  a  right  Xovote 
in  Convention,  (Dalcho,  p.  500,)  it  was  amended  by  adding  "  with  a  right  to  voie  with  the 
Lay  Delegates,  provided  that  such  right  shall  not  appertain  to  the  officiating  Clergyman  of 
any  particular  Church,  in  cases  where  Lay-Delegates  have  not  been  appointed  "  Here  the 
Clerical  vote  was  still  merged  in  tl^^  Lay-vote  ;  and  where  no  Lay-Delegates  were  appointed 
the  Clergyman  had  no  vote. 

,  In  1808,  (Dalcho,  p.  503,)  the  Vestry  of  St.  Philip's  Church  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Con- 
vention declaring  that  they  disagreed  to  the  article  giving  the  Clergy  a  right  to  vote.  They 
Instrncted  their  Delegates  to  propose  an  amendment  by  adding  the  words  "  or  shall  not  at- 
tend."    After  consideiable  debate,  the  proposed  amendment  was  rejected. 

In  1809,  (Dalcho,  p.  507.)  a  further  amendment  was  made  giving  the  Clergy  a  right  to 
vote,  no  Lay-Delegate  attending,  upon  his  producing  a  certificate  from  the  Vestry  of  bis 
Church  of  his  beirg  authorized  by  them  to  do  so. 

In  1810,  (Dalcho.  p.  511,)  the  motion  was  renewed  to  prevent  a  Clergyman  from  voting 
when  his  Lay-Delegates  were  not  present ;  and  was  postponed  to  the  next  Convention. 

It  appears  tliat  there  was  no  meeting  in  1811  ;  and  in  1812,  (Dalcho,  p.  516,)  the  motion 
was  taken  up,  and  indetinitely  postponed.  The  article  was  then  amended  giving  the  Clergy 
"  a  right  to  vote  on  all  matters  requiring  the  suffrages"  of  the  Convention. 

In  1813,  (Dalcho,  p.  524,)  it  was  determined  that  the  Bishop  should  "  always  be,  ex-officio, 
President  of  the  Convention." 

In  1814,  (Dalcho.  pp.  530  and  532,)  the  third  rule  was  again  amended,  limiiing  the  suffrage 
of  tiie  Clergy  to  mafers  not  involving  the  temporal  concerns  of  the  Churches,  except  author- 
ized to  vote  on  those  matters  by  their  Churches. 

In  1621,  (page  21  of  the  Joiirnal,)  on  a  revision  of  the  Rules,  it  was  proposed  to  allow 
the  vote  by  orders.  This  wa.s  lost,  theie  not  being  a  constitutional  majority  of  two-thirds  ;  13 
churches  voting  for,  and  7  churches  against  it.  In  the  same  year  Missionaries  were  allowed 
a  seat  in  the  house. 

Ill  1824,  (Journal,  p.  19,)  the  Constitution  was  amended  so  as  to  allow  the  vote  by  orders. 
Thus  givinga  death  blow  to  long-existing  pr'  judict  s  and  jealousies. 

The  exien>  lo  which  this  jealousy  was  formerly  carried  in  ih's  >=ta'e  was  to  reject  al'o- 
gether  the  office  of  Bishop  (see  the  auhor's  work  on  Presbytery  and  Prelacy  p.  528  and  538) 
on  account  of  i's  hiirurchicaldispoiism.  JVow  ihe  laity  are  crushed  brneaihthe  idol  car  of 
ihi.«  dominant  h  erarch,  so  that  even  a  Rpctor  is  forc<  d  to  express  rejoic'ug  in  'he  pros'iaiion 
of  h<-  laiiy  and  in  his  own  permission  to  be  even  one  of  th  ;  "  nfi  rioi  clergy."  As  it  is  now 
it  is  'die  to  talk  of  the  righ  a  or  power  ofthp  laity  in  the  Ei)'scopaI  cliurch,  since  in  a  von*  by 
ord  r»<  f  all  the  iai'y  are  opposed  by  a  majority  of  the  el  rgy  tli-  y  are  ov<  rruled,  and  THE 
BISHOP  cm  veto  both. 


1S4  NOTES. 

principles  of  Presbyterianism  as  to  adopt  practically  many  of  the  essential  fea- 
tures of  the  system.  But  pure  Congregationalism  as  it  formerly  existed,  and  as  it 
now  exists  in  some  parts  of  England,  must  be  either  a  monarchy  or  na  anarchy. 
M.  Beverly,  Esquire,  thinks  that  as  found  in  England  it  is  an  ecclesiastical  mon- 
archy. "  Certainly,"  he  says,'  "  we  might  on  a  lower  ground  embarrass  the 
Congregational  dissenters,  by  requesting  them  to  explain  the  monarcliical  form  of 
their  toinisterial  government ;  for,  whatever  may  be  their  opinions  of  the  min- 
isterial office,  this  is  certain,  that  they  cannot,  and  would  not,  endeavor  to  de- 
fend the  monarchy  of  the  ministry,  by  reference  to  the  Scriptures,  or  even  to 
the  well-known  records  of  the  first  and  second  centuries  of  church  history.  All 
the  Congregational  dissenters  have,  in  practice,  rejected  the  plurality  of  minis- 
ters, and  have  settled  down  into  the  monarchical  form  of  government,  without 
the  pretence  of  an  argument  in  favor  of  such  an  arrangement.  Hence,  they  are 
endeavoring  to  circulate  opinions  favorable  to  a  large  increase  of  clerical  power; 
which,  if  it  should  be  successful,  would  place  them  in  a  higher  position  with 
regard  to  the  laity,  than  even  the  Presbyterian  clergymen  :  for  the  Presbyterian 
must  submit  to  the  decisions  of  his  clerical  brethren  in  general  assembly  and  to 
his  lay  brethren  in  the  session  ;  but  in  the  Congregational  system,  each  church 
ig  independent,  and  therefore  the  Congregational  clergymen  would  govern, 
tJlichecked  by  an  appeal,  in  the  convenient  arrjingement  of  an  independent 
monarchy." 

Such  also  is  the  view  taken  of  the  system  in  England  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cum- 
ming  of  London.^  "  Where  the  minister,"  he  says,  "  is  popular  and  able  to 
fill  his  pews  with  plenty  of  seat-holders,  he  can,  as  he  does  generally,  play  the 
absolute  despot.  His  deacons  are  his  servants,  and  his  members  are  his  sub- 
jects. But  where  the  minister  is  a  man  of  moderate  talents,  as  most  men  are, 
neither  attractive  nor  popular,  the  case  is  wholly  altered.  Mr.  Angel  James's 
LORD  DEACONS  then  start  into  power  ;  church-meetings  record  their  convictions 
of  a  "  dying  interest ;"  and  the  poor  man  is  cashiered  by  the  same  democracy 
that  called  him  into  prominence.  Such  a  man  is  not  an  independent  minister  ; 
he  is  rather  the  minister  of  an  independent  congregation.  This  system  is  op- 
posed alike  to  the  word  of  God,  the  first  principles  of  all  social  existence,  and 
the  interests  of  ministers  and  of  people." 

On  the  other  hand  the  Plymouth  brethren  have  set  up  the  government  of 
the  brethren  to  the  exclusion  of  any  government  by  a  pastorate  or  ministry. 
So  that  with  them  the  laity  are  every  thing  and  the  ministry  nothing.'  Here 
we  have  ecclesiastical  anarchy. 

In  pure  Congregationalism,  therefore  we  have  unbounded  equality,  but  not 
perfect  freedom^  since  there  are  no  intermediate  bodies  or  powers  to  protect 
the  people  from  the  dominion  of  the  pastor,  or  of  any  leader  in  the  congrega- 
tion ;  or  on  the  other  hand  to  protect  the  pastor  from  the  anarchical  ebullition 


1 )  Heresy  of  Human  Priestlioo'l,  p.  ii.  and  xii. 

2)  Apology  for  the  Cliurch  of  Scotland,  p.  12. 

3)  Dr.  Vauglmii's  Congrcg.  i>p.  176,  177. 


NOTES.  185 

of  popular  disaffection.  The  system  of  pure  Congregationalism  is  therefore 
wholly  unhke  our  republican  or  representative  system.  Whatever  analogy 
may  be  found  to  it  in  any  single  congregation,  there  can  be  none  discovered  in 
the  system  as  a  whole.  There  is  in  it  no  principle  of  union,  or  confederation, 
no  delegation  of  powers,  no  balance  of  responsibilities,  and  no  mutual  re- 
cognition of  responsibility  and  co-operation  ;  and  as  a  system  of  government 
therefore,  Congregationalism  can  have  no  resemblance  w^hatever  to  a  confeder- 
ated government,  which  out  of  many  bodies  constitutes  one  ;  nor  even  to  a  state 
government,  which  implies  the  union  of  many  townships  and  districts.  It  is  in 
short  NO  SYSTEM  of  ecclesiastical  government  at  all,  but  a  number  of  ecclesias- 
tical families  living  under  one  civil  government,  and  by  it  held  together,  but 
having  no  ecclesiastical  existence  as  a  body,  except  so  far  as  it  adopts  practi- 
cally the  essential  principles  of  a  presbyterial  or  confederated  government. 


[The  following  should  have  been  inserted  at  the  bottom  of  the  Note  on 
page  10.] 

See  also  the  Biblical  Repertory  for  January,  1845,  p.  54,  etc.,  where  it  is 
fully  shown  that  the  grant  of  the  keys  by  Christ  was  not  to  the  ministry  merely, 
but  to  the  whole  church. 

"  Our  divines,"  says  Mr.  George  Gillespie  in  his  assertion  of  the  government  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  Part  I.  ch.  4,"  prove  against  papists  that  some  of  these, 
whom  they  call  laics,  ought  to  have  a  place  in  the  assemblies  of  the  church, 
by  this  argument  among  the  rest ;  because  otherwise  the  whole  church  could 
not  be  thereby  represented.  And  it  is  plain  enough,  that  the  church  cannot 
be  represented,  except  the  hearers  of  the  word,  which  are  the  far  greatest  part 
of  the  church,  be  represented.  By  the  ministers  of  the  word  they  cannot  be  rep- 
resented more  than  the  burghs  can  be  represented  in  parliament  by  the  noble- 
men, or  by  the  commissioners  of  shires  ;  therefore  by  some  of  their  own  kind 
must  they  be  represented,  that  is,  by  such  as  are  hearers,  and  not  preachers. 
Now  some  hearers  cannot  represent  all  the  rest  except  they  have  a  calling  and 
commission  thereto  ;  and  who  can  these  be  but  ruling  elders  ?  And  again,  when 
the  Council  of  Trent  was  first  spoken  of  in  the  Diet  at  Wurtemberg,  Anno 
1522,  all  the  estates  of  Germany  desired  of  Pope  Adrian  VI.  that  admittance 
might  be  granted,  as  well  to  laymen  as  to  clergymen,  and  that  not  only  as  wit- 
nesses and  spectators  but  to  be  judges  there.  This  they  could  not  obtain, 
therefore  they  would  not  come  to  the  council,  and  published  a  book,  where 
they  allege  this  for  one  cause  of  their  not  coming  to  Trent,  because  none  had 
voice  there  but  cardinals,  bishops,  abbots,  generals,  or  superiors  of  orders,  whereas 
laics  also  ought  to  have  a  decisive  voice  in  councils.     If  none  but  the  min- 

9* 


186  NOTES. 

isters  of  the  word  should  sit  and  have  a  voice  in  a  synod,  then  it  could  not  be  a 
church  representative,  because  the  most  part  of  the  church  (who  are  the  hearers 
and  not  the  teachers  of  the  word)  are  not  represented  in  it.  A  common  cause 
ought  to  be  concluded  by  common  voices.  But  that  which  is  treated  of  in  coun- 
cils, is  a  common  cause  pertaining  to  many  particular  churches.  Our  divmes, 
when  they  prove  against  papists,  that  the  election  of  ministers,  and  the  excom- 
munication of  obstinate  sinners,  ought  to  be  done  by  the  suffrages  of  the 
whole  church,  make  use  of  this  same  argument  ;  that  which  concerneth  all, 
ought  to  be  treated  of  and  judged  by  all." 

So  argued  one  of  Scotland's  noblest  sons,  and  a  representative  in  the  West- 
minster Assembly  of  Divines.  And  such,  also,  are  the  general  views  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  (See  Jameson's  Cyprianus  Isotimus,  pp.  554-556  and 
540-544. 


THE 

PRELATICAL  DOCTRINE 

or 

APOSTOLICAL    SUCCESSION 

EXAMINED, 

AND     THE     PROTESTANT     MINISTRY    DEFENDED     AGAINST    THE 
ASSUMPTIONS     OF     POPERY    AND    HIGH     CHURCHISM, 

In  a  Series  of  Liectures. 

BY    THOMAS    SMYTH, 

Pastor  of  tJie  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Charleston,  S.  C. 


CHITICAL     NOTICES. 


Overture  adopted  by  the  Synod  of  S.  Carolina  and  Geo.  at  its  session  in  1841. 

That  the  publication  of  works  intended  to  advocate  the  distinctive  order  and 
polity  of  our  church  should  be  encouraged,  and  their  circulation  among  our 
people  rendered  as  general  as  possible  ;  and  it  having  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
this  Synod,  that  one  of  their  number,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Smj^hj  of  Charleston, 
has  recently  given  to  the  Church,  among  other  valuul)le  publications, '  Au  Eccle- 
siastical Catechism  of  the  Presbyterian^Church,  for  the  use  of  Families,  Bible 
Classes,  and  Private  Members,' — and  a  series  of  lectures  on  'The  Prelatical 
Doctrijie  of  Apostolical  Succession  Examined,  and  the  Protestant  Ministry 
Defended  against  the  Assumptions  of  Popery  and  High-Churchism.'  Therefore, 
Resolved^  That  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  regard  with  pleasure 
and  approbation  these  publications,  as  containing  an  able  defence  of  the  di\nne 
authority  of  the  Protestant  Ministry,  and  a  full  and  satisfactory  exposition  of  the 
order  and  government  of  our  Church;  and  as  demanded  by  the  present  state  of 
the  controversy  on  these  subjects.  And  the  Synod  does,  therefore,  cordially 
recommend  the  said  publications  to  all  our  Ministers,  Elders,  and  private  mem- 
bers, as  works  of  high  value,  a)id  calculated  to  advance  the  intelligence  of  our 
Church,  on  our  distinctive  peculiarities  and  doctrines. 

Extract  from  a  review  of  the  work  in  the  Biblical  Repertory,  for  Jan'y,  1841 . 

'  This  book  does  no  small  credit  to  the  industry-  and  talent  of  the  author.  The 
importance  of  his  subject,  the  correctness  of  his  views,  and  the  abundance  of 
materials  which  he  seems  to  liave  had  at  his  command,  eiuitle  his  performance  to 
the  most  respectful  notice.  The  author's  mind  is  not  only  strong  but  lively,  and 
his  book  exhibits  traces  of  both  qualities.  The  natural,  (and  may  we  not  say,) 
national,  vivacity  with  which  he  seizes  on  his  topics  and  discusses  them, 
enlivens  in  a  very  satisfactory  degree  even  those  parts  of  tlie  subject  which 
might  otherwise  have  proved  most  irksome  and  fatiguing.  In  a  word,  the  book, 
(which  by  the  way  is  elegantly  printed.)  may  be  freely  commended  to  the  favor- 
able notice  of  the  public  ;  and  we  doubt  not  that  wherever  it  is  read  it  will  be 
useful,  in  apprising  those  who  read  it  what  the  high  church  doctrine  really  is,  and 
on  what  grounds  it  may  be  most  triumphantly  and  easily  refuted  ' 


2  CRITICAL     X0TICE8. 

From  the  Southern  Christian  Advocate. 

'  We  have  the  pleasure  to  announce  the  probable  publication  of  these  Lec- 
tures at  no  distant  day.  As  far  as  opportunity  has  allowed  it,  we  have  attended 
Mr.  Smyth's  course,  and  been  both  pleased  and  edified.  Pleased,  in  witnessing 
a  fine  combination  of  candor,  kindness,  and  strength,  in  the  discussion  of  difficult 
and  soul-rousing  questions.  Edified,  in  listening  to  a  vigorous  discussion  of 
important  first  principles,  ^vhere  the  lecturer  ^vas  master  of  his  thesis,  and 
backed  his  reasoning  by  extensive  authority  of  the  highest  value  in  this  contro 
versy.  This  volume,  in  which  the  Prelatic  Doctrine  of  Apostolical  Succession 
is  considered,  will  be  highly  valuable  to  the  theological  student.' 

From  the  Christian  Intelligencer,  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  N.  Y. 

*  This  is  an  exceedingly  neat  volume  of  five  hundred  and  sixty-eight  pages, 
beautiful  in  its  mechanical  execution,  and  upon  a  subject  of  grave  and  exciting 
importance.  The  work  is  seasonable,  and  from  the  cursory  examination  which 
we  have  as  yet  been  able  to  give  to  it,  we  believe  that  it  will  prove  to  be  exceed- 
ingly valuable.  The  work  before  us,  at  the  present  crisis,  is  seasonable  and 
necessary.  It  is  more  ample  in  its  discussion  than  any  that  preceded  it.  It  is 
the  result  of  much  and  patient  research,  and  will  be  found  to  reflect  credit  alike 
upon  the  talents  and  learning,  and  we  will  add  also,  tlie  temper  of  the  author. 
He  has  rendered  the  Protestant  community  a  debtor.  We  desire  that  the  work 
may  have  the  widest  circulation,  and  receive  the  careful  perusal  both  of  Episco- 
palians and  Christians  of  every  other  name.' 

From  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  N.  Y. 

*  This  is  a  large  octavo  volume.  The  author  makes  thorough  work  of  his 
subject,  examining  the  pretensions  of  Prelacy  with  care  and  candor,  and  expos- 
ing their  fallacy  with  unanswerable  force  and  perspicutily.  He  gives  the  claims 
which  are  set  up  by  Pt.pery  and  High-Churchmen  in  their  own  language,  and 
refutes  them  by  arguments  drawn  from  reason,  church  history,  and  Scripture. 
The  Christian  world  seems  to  be  waked  up  anew  to  the  high  and  exclusive 
claims  of  Prelacy  by  the  astounding  assumptions  of  the  Oxlbrd  divines ;  and 
we  admit  that  such  a  book  as  that  before  us  seems  to  be  called  for  by  the  occa- 
sion, and  will  no  doubt  be  read  with  great  interest.' 

From  the  New  York  Evangelist. 

'  A  large  and  elegant  octavo  volume,  on  a  most  important  topic.  Its  object  is 
the  examinntion  of  the  claitns  of  the  Popish  hierarchy,  and  of  that  portion  of  the 
clergy  and  laity  of  the  Episcopal  Church  which  sympathizes  with  them,  to  the 
exclusive  right  to  the  functions  and  privileges  of  tiie  Christian  ministry  and 
Church.  These  claims,  always  unscriptural,  have  of  late  assumed  new  arro- 
gance and  vigor,  by  the  brief  currency  of  the  Oxford  publications,  and  the 
greatly  quickened  zeal  of  the  Papacy  among  us.  The  time  has  certainly  arrived 
when  their  exclusive  notions  should  be  sulijected  to  the  searching  test  of  reason 
and  scripture.  If  there  are  those  among  us  who  will  vauniingly  assume  that  theirs 
is  the  only,  the  valid  miiii.'S.try,  that  with  them  arc  to  he  found  the  only  author- 
ized ordinances  of  salvation,  that  there  is  no  safely  but  within  the  pale  of  their 
own  denominaiion  ;  let  their  preten.sions  be  sifted,  and  the  emptiness  of  their 
claims  be  exposed  by  the  clear  light  of  truth.     That  such  a  coutest  with  the 

Erinciple  of  Prelacy  is  yet  to  be  waged,  and  that  it  is  to  be  abandoned,  there  can 
e  no  douht.  We  hail  every  effort  to  throw  light  upon  the  subject.  Mr.  Smyth 
has  entered  vigorously  uj)on  the  field  of  controversy,  and  has  spared  neither 
pains  or  streugth  to  do  it  justice.  He  has  gone  over  the  whole  ground  in  a  more 
extended  manner  than  any  writer  before  him  in  this  country,  and  in  an  able 
manner.' 

From  The  Presbyterian. 

'  The  volume  befiire  us  contains  a  xevy  full  and  minute  discussion  of  the  doc- 
trine indicated  in  its  title,  and  is  to  be  followed  by  another  which  will  vindicate 
the  claims  of  Presbyierianism.    The  necessity  of  the  work  arises  from  the 


CRITICAL     NOTICES.  J 

increasing  boMness  and  arrogance  with  which  the  Episcopal  Church  obtrudes 
its  claims  as  the  only  true  church,  with  the  only  valid  ordinances,  and  the  only 
divinely  constituted  ministry.  As  to  the  manner  in  which  he  has  accomplished 
his  task,  we  are  disposed  to  judge  very  favorably,  from  the  necessarily  partial 
manner  in  wliich  we  have  been  able  to  examine  his  work.  He  has  acquired  a 
clear  and  distinct  view  of  the  question  discussed  in  all  its  bearings,  and  to  each 
specific  point  he  has  brought  a  muid  stored  with  the  fruits  of  extensive  reading. 
AVe  have  admired  the  extent  of  his  research,  and  his  diligence  in  learning  all 
that  had  been  said  by  preceding  writers  which  could  throw  light  on  the  discus- 
sion ;  and  indeed  we  have  rather  regarded  him  as  too  redundant  in  his  authorities  ; 
a  fault,  by  the  way,  not  often  commuted  in  this  age  of  jumping  at  conclusions. 
Mr.  Smyth  states  the  question  of  Apostolic  succession,  so  much  in  the  mouth  of 
modern  Episcopalians,  and  he  viev.v3  it  in  all  possible  lights,  weighs  it  in  just 
balances,  and  pronounces  it  wanting.  He  not  only  proves  that  the  assumption 
is  unscriptural  and  unreasonable,  but  he  traces  the  boasted  succession,  and 
shows  its  broken  links,  and  finds  after  all  the  flourish  of  trumpets,  that  prelatisis 
are  glorying  in  a  mere  shadow.  He  carries  the  war,  moreover,  into  the  enemy's 
camp,  and  he  carries  off  many  trophies.  iMr.  Smyth  is  undoubtedly  an  able 
controversialist,  and  prelatists  will  find  him  well  armed  at  all  points,  if  they  are 
disposed  to  attack.' 

From  the  Southern  Christian  Advocate. 

'  The  work  before  us  is,  we  believe,  the  first  distinct  treatise  published  in  this 
country  on  the  subject  of  the  Apostolical  Succession,  and  in  opposition  to  Us 
arrogant  assumptions.  A  ver>'  ably  argued  and  well  written  work  has  been 
recently  given  to  the  English  pul)lic',  entitled  'An  Essay  on  Apostolical  Succes- 
sion,' by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Powell,  a  Wesleyan  minister,  of  which  Mr.  Smyth 
makes  honorable  mention.  We  consider,  therefore,  the  puljlication  of  these 
Lectures  as  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  religious  literature  of  the  time, 
demanded  withal  by  the  claims  of  that  portion  of  our  common  Christianity, 
which  is  so  unfoitunate  as  to  have  no  participation  in  the  anointing  oil  of  pre- 
latical  consecration,  and  which  lies  beyond  the  range  of  apostolico-succcssion- 
covenant  bles.sing.  Mr.  Smyth  has  executed  his  task  in  a  candid,  kind,  and 
courteous  spirit,  while  he  has'  subjected  the  theory  of  Apostolical  Succession  to 
the  scrutiny  of  a  thorough,  extensive,  and  fearless  examination.  Innumerable 
authorities  are  cited,  and  a  copious  index  concludes  the  volume,  which  embraces 
upwards  of  five  hundred  and  sixty-nine  pages,  and  is  gotten  up  in  the  finest 
finish  of  the  typographical  art.' 

From  the  Charleston  Observer. 

'  Notice  was  taken  of  these  Lectures  while  in  course  of  delivery.  They  are 
now  published,  and  ^viIll  tlie  notes,  which  contain  as  much  reading  as  the  text, 
make  a  large  volume  of  five  hundred  and  sixty-eight  pages.  The  typographical 
execution  is  in  the  best  modern  style,  from  the  press  of  Crocker  atid  Brewster 
Boston.  Our  design,  at  present,  is  simply  to  apprise  our  readers  that  the  work 
is  published,  intending  at  our  leisure  to  give  it  a  more  iV.rmal  Jiotice.  As  the 
basis  of  the  opinion  controverted,  rests  upon  what  is  familiarly  known  as  tlie 
Apostolical  Succession,  it  is  here  that  the  author  has  exhibited  his  chief  strength. 
And  were  we  to  say  that  he  has  made  good  his  position,  it  might  be  regarded  as 
only  a  judgment  expressed  in  accordance  with  previously  existing  prejuclices  in 
its  favor.  But  we  hope,  on  the  otlier  hand,  that  none  will  undertake  to  condemn 
it  unread.  The  advocates  of  High-Churchism,  whether  Roman  or  Anglican, 
are  chiefly  concerned  in  the  discussion,  and  possi'oly  tliey  may  find  in  the  work 
something  that  will  moderate  their  exclusive  zeal,  and  lead  them  to  the  exercise 
of  more  charity  for  the  opinions  of  those  from  whom  they  differ.' 

From  The  Presbyterian. 

'  Mr.  Editor  :  —  T  ask  room  in  your  paper  to  commend  this  work  to  the  attention 
of  the  ministers  and  intelligent  laymen  of  our  Church.  If  there  be  any  among 
them  who  doubt  whether  a  work  of  this  sort  was  called  for,  their  doubts  wiU 
noXiunivelhe  reading  of  the  first  Lecture,  entitled  'The  Necessity  for  an  Exam- 


4  CRITICAL     NOTICES. 

ination  into  tlie  Prelatical  Doctrine  of  Apostolical  Succession.'  The  discussion, 
therefore,  in  which  Mr.  Smyth  has  embarked,  was  provoked  by  the  growing 
disposition  among  High-Cliurch  Episcopahans,  to  unchurch  the  Presbyterian 
body,  and  challenge  exclusive  salvation  to  the  members  of  churches  under 
Diocesan  Bishops.  His  work  is  not  an  attack,  but  a  defence  —  a  defence  con- 
ducted with  great  abiliiy  and  skill.  I  venture  to  commend  it  to  the  notice  of 
your  readers,  because  I  am  satisfied  they  will  be  instructed  and  profited  by  the 
perusal  of  it.  The  lectures  are  evidently  the  result  of  much  study,  and  very 
extensive  research.  No  single  volume  I  have  seen,  contains  such  a  mass  of 
authorities  and  seasonable  testimonies,  on  the  Prelatical  controversy  as  this 
work.  It  is  equally  creditable  to  the  author's  talents  and  industry,  that  "he  should 
have  found  time  to  prepare,  in  the  midst  of  his  pastoral  duties,  an  octavo  of 
five  hundred  and  fifty  pages,  on  a  sul)ject  requiring  so  much  study,  and  involv- 
ing an  examination  of  several  hundred  distinct  works  on  either  side  of  the  con- 
troversy. iSuch  labors  ought  not  to  go  unrequited  ;  but  his  brethren  will  be  ren- 
dering themselves  and  the  cause  of  truth  a  substantial  service,  by  placing  it  in 
their  libraries  ;  and  it  is  tor  this  reason  tliat  their  attention  is  invited  to  it  by  one 
who  has  no  other  concern  in  it  than  that  which  is  common  to  every  Presbyterian.' 

From  the  New  York  Observer. 

'  A  formidable  volume  this  is  in  appearance,  and  on  this  very  account  will 
repel  many  who  might  otherwise  be  attracted  to  examine  its  pages.  In  a  course 
of  twenty-one  lectures  the  author  has,  with  great  industry  and  research,  and  no 
mean  ability  a.s  a  controversialist,  examined"  the  question  before  him,  and  pre- 
sented, in  the  compass  of  a  sinj-le  book,  a  mass  of  testimony  that  must  be  of 
value  to  those  whose  time  and  means  will  not  allow  them  to  pursue  the  investi- 
gation through  all  the  original  sources,  which  Mr  Smyth  has  so  perseveringly 
explored.' 

From  the  Watchman  of  the  South, 

*  We  offer  a  few  general  remarks  at  present,  intending  at  an  early  day  to 
notice  them,  or  at  least  that  last  named,  far  more  fully  than  we  usually  do.  One. 
thing  must  strike  every  one  who  knows  the  history  of  the  author  of  these  works 
We  refer  to  his  industry.  Without  very  firm  bodily  health,  and  having  a  very 
laborious  pastoral  charge,  he  still  economizes  time  sufficient  to  bring  out,  through 
the  press,  from  time  to  time,  important  contributions  to  the  cause  he  loves  This 
is  as  it  should  be.  Mr.  Smyth  is,  of  course,  a  growing  minister.  His  influence 
and  usefulness  are  constantly  extending.  It  is  also  obvious  to  any  one  who 
reads  Mr.  Smyth's  works,  that  he  has,  or  has  the  use  of  a  very  good  library,  and 
is  a  man  of  no  mean  learnin?.  His  works  show  the  importance  of  ministers' 
salaries  being  such  as  to  enable  them  to  'give  themselves  to  reading.'  But  Mr. 
Smyth  is  not  a  mere  reader.  He  arranges  and  uses  what  he  reads.  His  char- 
acter as  a  writer  rises  every  year.  Mr.  Smyth  is  p.lso  ardently  attached  to  Pres- 
byterianisra.     Further  remarks  may  be  expected  in  a  week  or  two.' 

From  the  Charleston  Courier. 

•  AVe  would  call  the  attention  of  all  those  who  profess  any  regard  for  the 
literary  character  of  our  southern  community,  to  a  work  recently  published  by 
our  esteemed  fellow-townsman,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  entitled  '  Lectures  on 
the  Apostolical  Succession.'  Whatever  may  be  the  opinion  of  the  intelligen' 
reader  on  the  subjects  of  which  it  treats,  he  will  acknowledsfe  it  to  be  a  striking 
example  of  extensive  and  profound  research,  and  most  diligent  investigation 
The  author  appears  to  have  enjoyed  some  remarkable  advantages  in  the  prose 
cution  of  his  inquiries.  Possessing,  as  he  does,  one  of  the  best  private  libraries  in 
this  country — probably  the  most  complete  in  the  theological  department — he  has 
had  access  to  an  immense  mass  of  authorities,  not  usually  within  the  reach  ot 
the  American  scholar,  and  his  abundant  and  volumimius  references  make  hia 
book  an  absolute  index  for  the  use  of  future  writers.  His  industry,  indeed,  has 
left  but  scanty  gleanings,  as  it  would  appear,  for  any  who  may  desire  to  follow 
him  in  this  discussion.  His  style  is  easy  and  animated,  and  the  interest  of  the 
reader  is  kept  up,  without  flagging,  through  an  octavo  of  nearly  six  hundred 


CHITIC  AL     NOTIC  K3.  9 

pares.  We  hope  the  success  of  this  highly  creditable  effort  may  be  such  as  to 
induce  the  learned  and  reverend  author  lo  complete  his  task,  by  giving  promptly 
to  the  public  the  second  volume  of  his  course,  promised  m  his  preface.' 

From  the  Christian  Observer. 

*  From  a  cursory  examination  of  this  work,  we  think  it  well  adapted  to 
accomplish  the  good  purposes  for  which  it  is  designed  It  exposes  and  refutes 
the  extravagant  assumpuons  of  High-Churchmen,  who  claim  to  be  the  succes- 
sors of  the  apostles  in  the  ministry,  exclusive  of  all  those  who  reject  their  views 
of  Prelacy.  The  work  is  worthy  of  a  more  extended  notice,  which  shall  bo 
given  at  an  early  day.' 

From  the  Christian  Watchman.    (Boston  — a  Baptist  paper.) 

'  This  volume  has  lain  on  our  table  a  considerable  time,  to  enable  us  to  give  it 
such  an  examination  as  the  subject  and  the  merits  of  the  book  demand.  The 
discussion  throughout  is  conducted  with  candor,  impartiality,  and  kindness  ;  and 
displays  no  small  share  of  abiliiy,  learning,  and  diligent  research.  It  is  deci- 
dedly the  most  able  and  thorough  vindicsuion  of  the  Presbyterian  view  of  the 
subject  which  we  have  ever  seen.  The  discussion,  too,  is  timely,  when  Epis- 
copal popery  is  receiving  a  new  impulse  from  the  Oxford  w^riters,  whose  senli 
meuts  find  so  much  sympathy  even  iu  our  own  land.  We  commend  the  book 
therefore,  to  the  attention  of  our  brethren  in  the  ministry,  not  as  taking  in  every 
instance  that  ground  which  we,  as  Baptists  and  Independents  should  prefer  to 
see  taken,  but  as  an  able  defence  of  the  truth,  and  an  extensive  collection  of 
authorities  and  facts.' 

From  the  Christian  Examiner  and  General  Review,  (Boston,)  Nov.  1841. 

*  We  by  no  means  intend  to  intimate  that  the  work  is  ill-timed  or  superfluous. 
Such  is  not  our  opinion.  We  believe  it  will  do  good.  It  will  meet  the  new 
phase  of  the  controversy,  and  supply  what  we  have  no  doul)t  is,  in  some  parts  of 
our  country,  a  pressing  want.  Even  the  greatest  absurdities,  iterated  and  reit- 
erated in  a  tone  of  unblushing  confidence,  will  gain  some  adherents.  Besides, 
the  old  treatises  on  the  subject  are  in  a  manner  inaccessible  to  the  general  reader, 
and  will  produce  a  deeper  impression,  even  if  it  be  not  more  applicable,  which 
in  ordinary  cases  it  will  be,  to  the  state  of  the  times.  The  present  volume  we 
regard  as  not  only  suited  to  the  times,  but  in  itself  a  production  of  no  trifling 
merit.  It  indicates  great  industry,  and  no  little  research  on  the  part  of  the 
writer,  and  its  statements  appear,  from  such  an  examination  as  we  have  been 
able  to  give  it,  entitled  to  confidence.  .  .  .  There  is  an  earnestness,  good 
temper  and  thoroughness  which  mark  the  work,  which  we  like,  and  we  can 
very  cordially  commend  it  to  the  attention  of  all  who  feel  an  interest  in  the 
•ubject.' 

From  the  Southern  Qtiarterly  Review. 

'  This  is  one  of  the  ablest  works  of  theological  controversy,  that  has  appeared 
during  the  present  century,  and  we  are  happy  to  be  able  to  add  that  it  is  the  pro- 
duction of  a  Charleston  clergyman.  .  .  .  We  say  then,  in  the  outset,  that  the 
Presbj-terian  church  has,  in  our  opinion,  in  the  author  of  the  \vork  before  us,  a 
powerful  champion,  who  wields  a  polished  pen,  and  one  who  seems  to  be  emi- 
nently fitted,  by  his  learning,  his  talents,  and  his  nidustr)',  lo  maintain  manfully 
the  cause  he  has  espoused.  We  have  read  his  book  with  deep  interest,  and  with 
great  respect  for  his  abilitv,  and  the  general  candor  and  fairness  of  his  argu- 
ments.'   [April,  1S43  :  pp  534  — 537. 

From  the  Magnolia,  a  Literary  Magazine  and  Monthly  Review. 

*  The  Doctrine  of  Apostolical  Succession  is  here  examined  in  an  elaborate 
course  of  Lectures,  twenty-one  in  number,  by  the  Rev.  Tlio.s.  Smyth,  Pastor  of 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  Charleston.  It  is  not  within  our  province  to 
examine  them.  We  can  say  nothing,  therefore,  of  the  question  which  Mr. 
Smyth  discusses.     No  doubt  he  discusses  it  ably.     He  certainly  discusses  it  ear- 


6  CRITICAL     NOTICES. 

nestly.  He  is  inarenious  and  forcible,  and  displays  a  wonderful  deal  of  industry 
and  research.  Here  now  is  an  oclavo  of  near  six  hundred  pages,  brimful  of 
study,  and  crowded  with  authorities.  We  perceive  that  Mr.  Smyth  wins  the 
plaudit '  well  done,'  from  numerous  hi?!!  sources,  advocating  the  same  doctrine 
with  himself.  They  seem  to  think  that  his  sirgument  has  done  ample  justice  to 
his  subject ;  and  we  may  add,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  examine  it,  that  it 
has  been  urged  in  a  candid  and  Christian  temper.' 

From ,  Attorney  General  in  the  State  of  — — . 

'  Your  Lectures  I  read  with  the  highest  satisfaction,  and  take  great  pleasure  in 
acknowledging  the  obligations  which  I  think  the  friends  of  Christian  truth,  reli- 
gious liberty,  and  I  will  add,  of  the  pure  undefiled  gospel,  owe  to  you  for  them. 
Your  vindication  of  the  Church,  by  which  I  mean  the  humble  followers  of  our 
Lord,  by  whatever  name  called,  from  the  claims  of  usurped  ecclesiastical  domi- 
nation, seems  to  me  to  be  complete  ;  and  whilst  you  have,  in  succession, 
destroyed  and  dissipated  every  ground  of  doubt  on  the  subject,  in  the  rninds  of 
the  unprejudiced,  your  extensive  and  enlightened  research  and  discrimination, 
have  enabled  you  to  furnish  an  armory,  where  every  one  may  supply  himself 
with  weapons  for  defence  against  individual  attack.  Nor  am  I  less  gratified  with 
the  candid  and  charitable  tone  and  temper  with  which  your  views  are  propounded, 
than  with  the  overwhelming  mass  of  argument  and  illustration  by  which  they 
are  demonstrated  Your  lectures  seem  to  me  to  have  been  written  in  a  truly 
Christian  spirit ;  and  if  they  have  been  cavilled  at  on  that  ground,  it  can  only  be 
because  men  always  feel  attacks  upon  their  prejudices  to  be  unkind.' 

From  the  New  England  Puritan. 

•  This  large  octavo,  of  five  hundred  and  sixty-eight  pages,  is  a  highly  seasona- 
ble offering  to  the  Protestant  Churches  of  our  country,  and  displays  an  amount 
of  learning,  of  research,  of  skill  and  power  in  argument,  of  fertility  in  illustration, 
of  combined  candor  and  earnestness  of  spirit,  rarely  to  be  met  with  in  any  volume 
either  of  home  or  foreign  origin.  "We  have  not  had  it  in  hand  long  enough  to 
master  the  whole  of  its  contents  —  but  long  enough  to  be  satisfied  of  its  happy 
adaptation  to  the  sad  times  on  which  we  have  fallen,  and  of  the  richness  of  the 
treasures  it  offers  to  the  acceptance  of  the  true  friends  of  Christ.  The  volume 
before  us,  though  perfectly  calm  and  candid  in  its  discussions,  leaves  this  matter 
plain  as  sunlight.  More  formidable  foes  to  Christ  and  his  apostles  are  not  to  be 
found  amid  all  the  tribes  of  religious  errorists,  than  those  arrayed  beneath  the 
banners  of  Popery  and  High  Churchism.  Il  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  brethren  in 
the  ministry  will  avail  themselves  of  the  labors  of  l\Tr.  Smyth,  to  become 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  this  imposing  form  of  error,  and  arm  themselves 
with  '  panoply  divine  '  to  meet  it  and  confound  it,  ere  it  attains  the  preeminence 
to  which  it  aspires,  and  which,  unresisted,  it  will  inevitably  attain.' 

From  the  Boston  Recorder. 

'  This  is  truly  an  elaborate  work.  Our  attention  has  been  but  recently  called, 
in  a  special  manner,  to  its  contents,  but  our  highest  expectations  of  the  candor 
and  ability  of  the  discussion  have  been  more  than  satisfied.  The  object  of  the 
author's  animadversion  is  not  episcopac}',  as  such;  but  the  arrogant  and  exclu- 
sive claim  of  High  Churchmen  and  Romanists  to  be  the  onh/  true  Church  of 
Christ ;  his  only  real  ministers,  an  I  the  '  only  sources  of  eificarious  ordinances 
and  covenanted  salvation.'  The  volume  is  eminently  appropriate  to  the  times, 
and,  if  read  with  a  sincere  desire  for  the  truih,  must,  we  think,  prove  an  imme- 
diate corrective  of  any  tendencies  towards  the  Church  of  England  or  of  Rome.* 

From  the  Christian  World,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stockton,  of  the  Protestant 

Methodist  Church. 

'  The  Lectures  which  have  led  us  to  these  remarks,  are  a  valuable  addition  to 

religious  literature,  and  more  particularly,  the  polemical  department  of  it.     They 

number  twenty-one,  and  fill  a  handsome' volume  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  pages. 

The  chief  aim  of  the  author  has  been  to  test  the  prelaticul  doctrine  Iry  Scripture, 


CRITICAL     KOTICE  3.  7 

nistory,  and  facts  — to  exhibit  its  popish,  intolerant,  unreasonahle,  and  suicidal 
character,  and  to  show  thai  it  has  been  condemned  by  ilie  \>cil  authorities.  The 
latter  part  ot"  the  work  is  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  ::<chi:»m,  and  to  a  discus- 
sion ol  the  true  doctrine  of  Apostolical  Succession  The  plan  covers  the  whole 
sulijecl  —  the  execution  is  well  managed.  Ii  is  bold,  bul  temperate  —  fearless, 
but  not  reckless  —  a  fine  specimen  of  good  tactics  in  a  defensive  war.  As  a  text 
book  it  is  worthy  of  high  commendation,  abounding  as  it  does  in  copious  extracts, 
and  presenting  the  views  of  all  our  standard  aulfiors.  It  is  a  focal  point  where 
many  rays  have  been  gathered  —  we  had  almost  said  at  the  risk  of  good  taste  — 
a  hive,  where  many  bees  had  deposited  honey.  1[  it  be  not  as  eloquent  as 
IMasou's  Essay  on  this  subject,  or  as  cogent  and  imagmative  as  i\Iillon's  Tra<'^s 
on  it,  we  have  no  liesitaiion  in  prelerriiig  it  to  either,  tor  compass,  variety,  a  d 
clear  demonstration.' 

From  the  American  Biblical  Repository. 

'  This  well  filled  oclavo  volume  has  come  into  our  hands.  Its  leading  subjects, 
as  indicated  in  the  tille-poge,  are  of  sutiicient  importance  to  demaiid  a  thorough 
discussion;  and  we  agree  with  our  author  in  the  jjelief  that  the  time  has  come 
when  such  a  discussion  is  necessary  for  the  proper  vindication  of  the  rigliis  and 
duties  of  the  great  body  of  the  Protestant  ministry  and  churches,  against  the 
assumptions  of  a  poriion  of  their  own  number,  who  take  common  ground  with 
Romanists  in  excluding  tVom  the  pale  of  communion  in  the  *  holy,  catholic,  and 
apostolic  church,'  all  who  dissent  from  their  doctrine  of  '  exclusive  apostolic  suc- 
cession.' These  assumptions  are  not  only  found  in  many  of  the  old  and  standard 
divines  of  the  Church  of  England,  but  have  been  of  late  zealously  put  forth  in 
the  Oxford  '  Tracis  for  the  Times,'  have  i)cen  avowed  by  English  and  American 
bishops,  and  by  a  great  number  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  of  both  countries  ;  and 
ihe  assurance  with  which  they  are  urged  in  many  recent  publications,  calls  for  a 
patient  and  thorough  examination  of  the  arguments  advanced  in  their  support. 
Such  is  the  work  undertaken  by  our  author.  The  topics  of  the  twenty-one  Lec- 
tures comprised  in  this  volume,  are  as  follows,  etc.  These  subjects  are  discussed 
wiih  great  earnestness  and  strength ;  and  the  ample  and  numerous  autliorilics  by 
which  his  statements  and  reasonings  are  confirmed,  show  that  the  author  has 
spared  no  labor,  and  dispensed  wiih  no  availaLIe  aid,  in  his  investigations.  As 
far  as  we  have  examined  them,  they  appear  to  us  thorough  and  satisfactory,  and 
we  cordially  commend  the  work  to  the  diligent  study  of  our  readers.' 

From  the  Rev.  Samuel  H.  Cox,  D.  D.    Extract  from  a  Letter. 

'  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir:  —  Though  personally  unknown  to  you,  yet  have  I  been 
so  pleased  with  your  Lectures  on  the  Apostolical  Succession,  that  I  thought  il 
but  fair  to  tell  you  of  it.  ...  I  believe  you  are  doing  a  protestant  and  a  christian 
\vork ;  and  while  I  regret  some  incidental  differences  of  another  kind  between 
us,  I  am  happy  to  assure  you  of  my  God-speed,  and  of  my  prayers  for  a  blessing 
on  your  labors.' 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lamson. 

Dr.  Lamson  in  his  Lecture  on  Ihe  Uses  of  Ecclesiastical  History-,  CChristian 
Examiner,  Sept.  ]y4'2,  p.  ]2,)  in  alluding  to  the  claims  of  prelacy,  and  the  doc- 
trine of  Apostolical  Successionj  says:  'It  has  been  found  necessary  to  take  the 
field,  and  already  a  goodly  sized  octavo,  manifesting  no  little  industry  and 
research,  has  appeared,  printed  in  this  city,  though  written  by  a  Presbyterian  of 
the  South,  in  refutation  of  these,  as  we  are  accustomed  to  consider,  perfectly 
ai)surd  and  obsolete  claims.' 

From  the  Protestant  and  Herald. 

After  speaking  of  the  author's  Ecclesiastical  Catechism,  a  writer  in  tliis  paper 
Bays:  '  He  had  before  prepared  us  for  such  a  treat,  by  favoring  the  Protestant 
Church  with  a  profound,  learned,  and  eloquent  argument  on  '  the  Apostolic  Sue* 
cession,'  utterly  refuting  the  exclusive  and  inflated  claims  of  all  High  Churchmen, 
or  '  china  men,''  as  they  have  been  appropriately  styled  in  the  Biblical  Repertory 


9  CRITICAL     NOTICES. 

Of  this  production  of  hi<,  I  have  the  means  of  knowing:,  that  the  venerable  cham- 
pion in  the  cause,  lias  privately  declared  '  that  Mr.  Smylh  has  quoted  books  in  the 
controversy,  winch  he  hud  never  had  the  privilege  of  seeing,  and  which  were 
even  rare  in  Europe.' ' 

From  the  Honorable  Mitchell  King,  of  Charleston,  S.  C. 

'  Rkv.  ANT)  Dear  Sir:  ~  You  have  done  a  lastiu";  servire  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  by  the  publieaiion  of  your  work  on  the  Prelatical  Doctrine  of  the  Apos- 
tolical Succession.  The  question  which  you  there  discuss  has  assumed  in  our 
times  a  renewed  importaiKje,  from  the  efforts  recently  made  to  claim  for  particu- 
lar bodies  of  Christians  an  exclusive  right  to  the  benefits  of  that  covenant  of 
grace,  which  Christ  came  to  make  with  all  true  believers.  This  question  was, 
as  you  and  I  believe,  long  ago  settled  by  the  thorough  investigations  and  conclu- 
sive arguments  of  men  worthy,  if  mortal  men  can  be  worthy,  of  the  great  cause 
in  which  they  were  engaged  ;  who  were  influenced  solely  by  the  love  of  truth, 
and  k)llowed  that,  wherever  it  might  lead  them,  without  regard  to  merely  human 
authority;  and  many  of  whom  sealed  their  lesiiniony  with  their  blood.  These 
times  have  passed  away.  But  earnest  endeavors  have  been  lately  made,  to 
shake  the  confidence  of  many  Christians  in  the  principles  of  their  fathers,  and  to 
overthrow  their  faiih  in  liiat  Church  which  we  believe  to  be  founded  on  the 
■words  of  everlasting  liie.  Your  work,  therefore,  I  consider  as  most  seasonalile 
and  valuable,  as  reviving  and  spreading  the  knowledge  of  the  fundamental  truths 
on  which  our  Church  rests.  It  contains  a  fuller  review  of  the  reasonings  and 
authorities  on  this  subject,  than  any  other  work  w^ith  which  I  am  acquainted,  and 
will,  I  am  persuaded,  henceforth  be  an  armor)- in  which  the  defenders  of  Presby- 
terianism  can  find  weapons  of  proof  ready  prepared  for  them.  That  you  may  go 
forward  in  the  course  which  you  have  so  honorably  begun,  and  that  the  Great 
Head  of  the  Church  may  follow  your  labors  with  his  rich  blessing,  is  the  earnest 
prayer  of,  Rev'd  and  Dear  Sir,  yours  very  truly,  M.  KING. 

From  tlie  Rev.  John  Bachman,  D.  D.,  of  the  German  Lutheran  Church, 
Charleston,  S.  C. 

'  IVTy  Dkar  Sir:  —  To  my  mind  your  Lectures  on  the  Apostolical  Succession 
covers  the  whole  ground,  and  is,  without  exception,  the  most  triumphant  vindica- 
tion of  our  views  on  this  sui)ject,  that  I  have  ever  read.  I  regard  the  work  as 
the  most  valuable  contribution  that  has  ever  i}een  made  to  the  Southern  Church.' 

The  Prelaticai  Doctrine  of  the  ApostoHciil  Succession  Fxamined,  and  the  Protes- 
tant jMinistry  Ucfended  iig.iin.st  the  As>:urni)tioiis  of  Popery  and  High  Churchism, 
in  a  series  of  Lectures.  By  'Jhomas  tSaivTH,  Pastor  of  the  2nd  Presbyterian 
Church,   Charlesioii,  &,c. 

This  is  not  a  work  to  bo  di«!posod  of  in  a  mere  critical  notice.  It  deserves,  as  wo 
propose  in  our  next  number  to  i;ive  it,  n  more  nniple  consideration. 

The  volume  is  one  of  ibe  fust  fruits  of  the  controversy  in  America.  Mr.  Smyth, 
with  whom  we  became  acquainted  a  few  years  ago,  through  the  medium  of  his 
odmirablo  "  Ecclesiastical  Catechism  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  was  roused  to 
study  the  controversy  by  the  hierarchical  assumptions,  tlie  arrogant  bigotry,  the 
anathematizing  iniolerance,  and  the  proselyting  -/.en I,  universally  manifested  by  his 
Prelatic  countrymen.  Unostablished  though  the  Prelatic  sect  in  Ameiica  be,  re- 
publican as  are  all  its  members  in  profession,  at  least,  the  arrogance,  intolerance, 
and  pride,  of  the  Angligan  church  are  there  displayed  in  as  hyperbolical  and  bloated 
a  form  as  even  Laud  himself  ever  put  forth.  Prelacy,  in  fact,  account  for  it  as  you 
will,  lias  demonstrated  in  every  page  of  its  history,  that  it  is  as  great  an  enemy  to 
charity,  as  destiuctive  of  brotherly  love  and  peace,  and  as  inconsistent  with  liberty 
of  conscience  Of  toleration,  as  Popery  itself.  Jealous  of  the  attitude  assumed  by  Ihi.'i 
sect,  and  zealous  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  Mr.  Smyth  was  induced 
to  examine  the  basis  upon  which  such  lofty  pretensions  are  supposed  to  rest;  and 
the  present  volume  is  the  first  fruits  of  his  labois.  The  work  has  been  already 
most  favorably  received,  not  only  among  Presbyterians,  but  also  awjong  all  other 
Pretestant  denominations  in  America,  and  is  deciilerlly  the  best  mTtroaJ  of  the  Pre- 
latic controversy  in  its  present  phasis,  we  have  had  an  opportunity  of  consulting. 


AN 

ECCLESIASTICAL  CATECHISM 

OF    THE 

PRESBYTEllIAN   CHUECH, 

For  the  use  of  Bible  Classes,  Families,  and  Private  Members. 

THIRD   EDITION,   MUCH   IMPROVED. 

Tltis  work  has  been  submitted  to  the  revisioyt  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Miller,  d.  d. 
atul  many  others,  and  is  now  published,  as  approved  by  them,  and  with  their 
etneiidations. 


CRITICAIi    NOTICES. 

Overture  adopted  by  the  Synod  of  S.  Carolina  and  Geo.  at  its  session  in  1841. 

That  the  publication  of  v/orks  intended  to  advocate  the  distinctive  order  and 
polity  of  our  Church  shoulil  be  eiicourajed,  and  their  circulation  among  our 
people  rendered  as  general  as  possiMe  ;  and  it  having  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
this  Synod,  that  one  of  their  number,  the  Rev.  Tlmmas  Smyth,  of  Charleston,  has 
recently  given  to  the  Church,  among  other  valual)le  publications,  'An  Ecclesias- 
tical Catechism  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  for  the  use  of  Families,  Bible 
Classes,  and  Private  Members,"' — and  a  series  of  Lectures  on  'The  Prelatical 
Doctrine  of  Apostolical  Succession  Examined,  and  the  Protestant  Ministry 
Defended  against  the  Asumptions  of  Popery  and  High  Churchism.'  Therefore, 
K-^solved,  That  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  regard  with  pleasure 
and  approbation  these  publications,  as  contain.ing  an  at)le  defence  of  the  divine 
anihorily  of  the  Protestant  Ministry,  and  a  full  and  satisfactory  exposition  of  the 
order  and  government  of  our  Church  ;  and  as  demanded  by  the  present  state  of 
the  controversy  on  these  subjects.  And  the  Synod  does,  therefore,  cordially 
recommend  the  said  publications  to  all  our  Ministers.  Elders,  and  private  mem- 
bers, as  works  of  high  value,  and  calculated  to  advance  the  intelligence  of  our 
Church,  on  our  distinctive  peculiarities  and  doctrines. 

From  the  Biblic^  Eepertorj',  for  January,  1841. 

*  Mr.  Smyth  must  be  regarded  as  among  the  most  efficient  and  active  authors 
in  the  Presbyterian  Churcli.  His  valuable  work  on  the  'Apostolical  Succession,' 
reviewed  in  a  preceding  part  of  this  nnmbor,  is  a  monument  of  his  reading  and 
industry,  which  has  been  extensively  acknov.dedged.  The  '  Ecclesiastical  Cai- 
eciiism  '  bcf.>re  us,  is  anotiier  present  to  the  Church  with  which  Mr.  Smyth  i.^ 
coiuiected,  which  we  think  adapted  to  be  universally  esteemed,  and  highly  useful. 
It  is,  as  all  such  nruxiinals  ciueht  to  be,  l)ripf',  comprehensive,  simple,  adapted  to 
\veak  capacities,  and  yet  sulficicntly  instructive  to  gratify  the  most  intelligent 
minds.  The  ScriptursU  quotations  to  illustrate  and  "establish  llwi  principles  he 
lays  down,  are  perhaps,  in  some  cases,  unnecessarily  numerous,  and  in  a  few 
instances,  of  questionable  application.  But  it  is  on  the  whole  so  well  executed, 
and  possessed  so  much  solid  merit,  that  we  hope  it  may  be  extensively  circulated 
and  used.' 


S  CRITICAL     WOTICE  3. 

rrom  the  Rev.  Geo.  Ho-we,D.  D.,  Professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

'  The  design  and  the  execution  are  excellent.  It  contains  a  more  complete 
explanation  ot'  the  order  and  government  of  our  Clmrch,  than  I  have  ever  before 
seen  in  so  small  a  compass.  1  ihuilc  it  admirably  adapled  to  the  purposes  for 
■which  it  was  designed,  and  could  wisli  to  see  it  m  every  Presbyterian  family, 
and  studied  by  all  our  young  people,  as  an  appendix  lo  Uic  doctrinal  catechisms.' 

From  The  Presbyterian. 

*  We  have  received  a  neat  and  wcU-prinled  little  volume  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  pages,  enlilled  'An  Ecclesiastical  Catechism  of  the  Fresbyterifta 
Church,  for  the  use  of  Families,  Bible  Classes,  and  Private  Members:'  by  Rev. 
Tliomas  Smyth,  Pastor  of  the  Second  Pre5l)yterian  Cliurcli,  Charleston,  S.  C, 
into  which  the  author  has  compressed  a  large  aino'int  of  very  valuabJe  miftter, 
explanatory  and  illustrative  of  Church  order,  and  which  we  regard  as  particularly 
serviceable  at  the  present  time,  as  su|)plying  a  desideratum  iu  the  education  of 
Presbyterian  youth.  Although  the  author  modestly  remarks,  thai  his  Catechism 
is  an  attetnpt  rather  than  an  actual  accomplLshmt-nt  of  all  that  he  believes  to  be 
demanded  by  the  necessities  of  the  Church,  yet  iVom  the  atteiuion  we  have  been 
able  to  bestow  on  it,  we  should  regard  the  execution  of  the  attempt  as  highly 
creditable,  and  we  believe  the  book  "to  be  deservuig  of  an  immediate  adoption  in 
the  instruction  of  the  youth  of  our  Church.' 

From  the  Christian  Intelligencer,  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  N.  Y. 

'  The  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  should  possess  a  full  and  satisfactory 
acquaintance  with  the  principles  of  Presbyterian  government,  polity,  and  worship. 
This  Ihtle  volume  is  exceedingly  well  adapted  to  aid  in  gaming  this  acquaint- 
ance, and  is  suited  for  general  and  popular  use.  While  industrious  etfurts  are 
employed  by  other  denorainalions  in  opposition  to  these  principles,  it  is  highly 
important  and  desirable  that  a  popular  manual,  in  clui-idation  and  vindication  of 
their  creeds,  as  is  provided  in  this  volume,  should  be  circulated.  The  following 
are  the  subjects  of  the  chapters,  each  of  which  contains  several  sections,  or  sub- 
divisions • —  I.  The  Church.  II.  Governments  of  the  Church.  III.  Olficers  of 
the  Church.  IV.  Courts  of  the  Church.  V.  Power  of  the  Church.  VI.  Fellow- 
ship of  the  Church.  VII.  Relation  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  to  other  denomi- 
nations. The  catechetical  form  of  the  work,  and  the  copious  scripture-references 
and  authorities,  adapt  it  to  the  use  of  instruction.  Such  a  volume  as  this  was 
needed  ;  and  we  feel  indebted  to  Mr.  Sinyth  for  the  preparatiouof  it,  as  we  deem 
it,  in  matter  and  manner,  meeting  ilie  desideratum  required.' 

From  the  Charleston  Observsr. 

'Of  the  first  edition  of  this  work  we  spoke  in  terms  of  commend.ation.  TJut 
this  is  a  very  considerable  improvement,  not  only  in  the  style  in  which  it  is  gotten 
up  —  for  it  is  very  neatly  printed  and  bound  —  but  in  the  arrangement  and  matter. 
It  supplies  a  place  that  is  needed,  and  yet  it  is  issued  merely  as  an  attempt  to 
furnish  the  Church  with  a  brief  compend  of  her  worship  and  polity.  As  a 
denomination,  we  have  been  remiss  in  the  duty  of  letting  the  principles  and  polity 
of  our  Church  be  generally  known.  Many  of  our  own  memijers  need  informa- 
lion  on  this  subject,  that  they  may  be  estai)lished  in  the  truth  and  order  of  the 
house  of  God.  And  information  is  needed  also  by  others,  to  correct  the  erroneous 
impressions  respecting  it, which  have  been  designedly  or  undesignedly  made  upon 
their  minds.    The  work  deserves  general  circulation.' 

From  the  New  York  Observer. 

'  The  preparation  of  this  little  work  was  the  result  of  a  suggestion  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Miller,  of  Princeton  ;  and  in  it  the  author  has  presented  the  peculiar  leatares  of 
the  form  of  Government  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  questions  and  answers, 
and  in  simple  language,  that  the  senfiments  inculcated  may  be  readily  learned 
and  remembered  by  the  young.' 


CRITICALS0TICK3  <i 

From  the  Protestant  and  Herald. 

•Mr.  E'.htok:— Duriiipr  the  past  winier,  the  Female  Bil»l<*  Class  of  my  pas- 
toral charge,  have  iiieinoiizcd  '  The  EccUsiastical  Catechism,^  prepared  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Smyth,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  I  make  ihis  slatenieiit  in  your 
colmniis,  ill  order  to  exeite  and  secure  the  attention  of  your  readers  to  the  niility 
and  value  uf  that  liule  volume.  The  ladies  have  maiiiiested  an  unusual  deaT^e 
of  delij^ht  and  enthusiasm  in  llieir  recitations.  The  result  has  been,  if  I  mis;ak<j 
not,  '  a  full  and  coniprcJiensive  acquaintance  with  tiie  principles  of  the  worship 
and  polity  of  our  Church.'  Such  was  the  luipe  of  its  worthy  and  able  author  in 
the  preparation  of  his  book.  TI:e  proof-texts  are  generally  printed  at  length  in 
the  Catechism.  Without  attempting  an  analysis  of  this  book,  allow  me  to  ur's^e 
Pastors,  and  Ruling  KIders,  and  Deacons,  and  Sunday  School  Teachers  in  our 
Churches,  to  procure  this  interesting  and  attractive  and  cheap  compend  of  Church 
order,  and  indoctrinate  their  families  and  pupils  into  these  cherished  principles  of 
our  denomination.  Are  we  not,  as  a  body  of  people,  quite  remiss  in  this  high 
duty?  Let  the  standard-hearers  in  our  host,  bestir  themselves  as  they  ought,  to 
circulate  this  work,  as  a  Presbyterian  Sabbaih  School  book,  and  make  it,  if  y.)u 
please,  what  it  deserves  to  be,  next  to  our  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechism  — 
a  Presbyterian  classic  in  all  our  family  instructions.' 

From  the  Magnolia,  a  Literary  Magazine  and  Monthly  Review. 

'Tliis  little  volume  was  meant  for,  and  is  acknowledged  to  have  supplied  a 
want,  amoug  the  members  of  the  Prcsliyterian  Church.  It  is  a  copious  compila- 
tion, contaiiung  a  large  amount  of  religious  information,  and  we  take  for  granted, 
Jhat,  among  the  class  of  Christians  f  )r  ^vh()se  use  it  was  prepared,  it  is  far 
superior  to  any  thing  of  the  sort  which  had  ever  been  offered  ihem  before.  Il 
shows  industry,  reading,  and  analysis.' 

From  the  American  Biblical  P.epository. 

*  This  little  volume  is  issued  by  the  same  publishers  as  the  preceding  work,  by 
the  same  author.  It  is  a  \vell-digcstcd  system  of  questions  and  answers  on  the 
Church,  its  government,  —  its  officers.  —  its  courts,  —  its  powers,  —  its  fellowship, 
and  the  relation  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  to  other  denominations.  It  is  a  use- 
ful manual  for  Presbyterians,  and  may  be  instructive  to  oihers.' 

An  Ecclesiastical  Catechism  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  for  the  use  of  Fnmilios 
and  private  mcnibcrs.  By  Thomas  Smyth,  Pastor  of  the  2nd  Presbyteiian 
Cliurch,  Charleston,  184J, 

This  is  one  of  the  fullest  ecclesiastical  catechisms  we  hjive  seen,  forming  a 
small  volume  of  124  pages,  and  traversing  the  whole  subject  of  tvhich  it  treats  very 
minutely,  yet  with  conciseness  and  brevity.  'J'hcse  small  woiks  are  most  neces 
eaiy  in  the  present  day:  and  the  augmenting  demand  for  them  shows  that  the 
mind  of  the  nation  is'  rapidly  turning  towards  the  investigation  of  those  points 
which  have  been  so  sadly  negleGted,  aiid  to  the  neglect  of  which  we  must  atliibute 
much  of  the  ignorance  that  has  of  late  years  been  disphiyed  in  matters  ccclosiv.sti- 
cal,  during  the  mighty  controversy  which  the  disruption  of  last  May  brought  to  so 
magnificent^  yet  so  caU'mitous  a  close.  This  catechism  has  not.  we  believe,  been 
republished  in  this  countjy,  hut  ere  long  we  tiust  it  will  come  into  extensive  cii- 
culation,  both  to  instruct  the  faithful  adherents  of  the  Free  Chuich  of  Scoil md, 
and  to  counteract  Jhe  Siastjan  and  Prelatic  leaven  which  is  working  so  fatally  in 
ipany  quarters. 


ALSO,   BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR, 

JUST  PUBLISHED, 

PKESBYTERY  AND  NOT   PRELACY 
The  Scriptural  and  rrimitive  Polity, 

»ROVED  FROM  THE    TESTIMONIES  OF  SCRIPTURE  ;    THE  FATHERS 
THE   SCHOOLMEN  J    THE   REFORMERS;  AND   THE   ENGLISH  AND 
ORIENTAL   CHURCHES. 

ALSO,  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  PRESBYTERY; 

JNCLUDING  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CULDEES,  AND  OF  ST 
PATRICK. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  REPUBLICANISM; 

OR  THE  REPUBLICANISM,  LIBERALITT,  A>B  CATHOLICITY  OF 

PRESBYTERY, 

AS?  ID  IF®IFIlIIl"S"o 


PREPARING  FOR  PUBLICATION, 

AN  ABRIDGED  EDITION  OF  THE  AUTHOR'S  WORK  ON 
THE  PRELATICAL  DOCTRINE 

OP  THE 

APOSTOLICAL  SUCCESSION' 

PRBPARED,  AT  HIS  REQUEST,  BY  THK 

Kev.  Joseph  Tracy, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  GREAT   AWAKENING,  HISTORY  OP  THE   A.  B.  0.   FOR 
FOREIGN    MISSIONS,    &C. 


LATELY  PUBLISHED,  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOK, 

PRESBYTERY  AND  NOT  PRELACY 

IDE  SCRIPTURAL  m  PRLIIITIYE  POLITY; 

PROVED  FROM  THE 

Testimonies  of  Scripture ;  the  Fathers  ;  the  Schoolmen ;  the  Reformers ; 
and  the  English  and  Oriental  Churches. 

ALSO, 

THE  ANTiaUITY  OF  PRESBYTERY; 

INCLUDING 
AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THK  ANCIENT  CULDEZS,  AND   OF   ST.  PATRICK. 

ALSO 

ECCLESIASTICAL  REPUBLICANISM; 

OR,    THE 

REPUBLICANISM,  LIBERALITY,  AND  CATHOLICITY 

OF 

PRESBYTERY, 

IN  CONTRAST  WITH  PRELACY  AND  POPERY. 

CRITICAL  lOTICESj  WHICH  HAVE  ALREADY  APPEARED! 

From  the  Rev.  Samuel  Miller^  D.  Z).,  Professor  in  the  Theological 
Seminary,  Princeton. 

I  HAVE  read  the  volume  entitled  "Presbytery  and  not  Prelacy 
the  Scriptural  and  Primitive  Polity,"  ifcc,  with  unfeigned  and 
high  pleasure ;  and  although  not  able  to  acquiesce  in  every  opin- 
ion and  statement  which  it  contains,  yet  I  consider  it,  in  its  great 
outline,  as  clear,  learned,  powerful,  and  altogether  conclusive  in 
the  refutation  of  Prelacy  and  establishment  of  Presbyterianism. 
It  takes  a  more  comprehensive  and  complete  view  of  the  whole 
controversy  than  is  to  be  found  in  any  other  single  volume  with 
which  I  am  acquainted,  and  appears  to  me  to  be  eminently  adapted 
to  be  useful,  and  well  worthy  of  the  thanks  and  patronage  of  every 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  It  is  eminently  a  learned 
work.  The  author  has  not  suffered  himself  to  write,  as  too  many 
of  the  ignorant  and  arrogant  advocates  of  the  sect  which  he  op- 
poses have  done,  without  an  acquaintance  with  more  than  his  own 

a 


£  CinriC^NL  NOTICES. 

side  of  the  question.  I  doubt  wlicther  tliere  is  finothcr  individual 
in  the  United  Slates  who  has  read  so  extensively  on  tliis  subject, 
and  especially  who  has  made  himself  so  familiar  with  the  works 
of  the  highest  and  best  authorities  of  the  Episeopal  denoniination. 
Mr.  Smyth  is  undoubtedly  entitled  to  the  charticter  of  an  able 
advocate  and  benefactor  of  the  Presbyterian  Cliurch.  With  regard 
to  every  important  Episcopal  claim,  he  has  not  only  shown  that  it 
has  no  support  whatever  in  the  word  of  God,  but  that  it  has  been 
given  up  as  untenable  by  the  most  learned  and  venerable  authori- 
ties among  Prelatists  themselves. 

Witli  regard  to  the  second  work,  of  smaller  size,  by  the  same 
author,  entitled  "Ecclesiastical  Republicanism,"  it  merits  the 
same  general  character  with  its  larger  companion.  It  is  learned 
and  ample  in  its  compass,  forcible  in  its  reasoning,  and  perfectly 
unanswerable  in  its  statements  and  conclusions. 

These  works  cannot  fail  of  nuiking  a  deep  impression  on  all 
minds  capable  of  estimating  the  weight  of  either  authority  or  argu- 
ment. Every  Presbyterian  in  the  United  States  ought  to  feel 
himself  a  debtor  to  the  author. 


From  the  Biblical  Repertory. 

We  have  here  two  nevvvolumes  by  the  indefatigable  author  of 
the  Lectures  on  Apostolical  Succession.  The  more  elaborate  and 
important  of  the  two  is  constructed  on  the  same  general  method 
with  its  predecessor,  but  with  the  advantage  of  appearing  in  a 
more  digested,  systematic  form.  In  either  case,  the  circumstance 
which  first  strikes  the  reader  is  the  number  and  variety  of  authors 
quoted.  None  but  a  well  stocked  and  selected  library  could  fur- 
nish the  material  of  .such  a  volume.  It  is  in  this  richness  of  ma- 
terial that  the  value  of  the  work  chiefly  consists. 

If,  in  addition  to  the  summary  view  which  we  have  given  of 
the  author's  plan,  and  the  more  general  remarks  preceding  it,  we 
thought  it  necessary  to  characterize  this  treatise  as  a  whole,  we 
should  call  attention,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  comprehensiveness 
of  its  design.  We  are  not  aware  of  any  interesting  or  important 
question,  involved  in  the  controversy,  which  is  left  untouched. 
The  extent  and  variety  of  the  author's  reading,  upon  this  and 
kindred  subjects,  have  made  him  acquainted  with  the  various  as- 
pects under  which  the  whole  dispute  lias  been  presented,  and  with 
the  precise  points  which  are  now  at  issue.  If  he  has  not  always 
made  them  as  distinctly  visil;le  to  the  reader  as  they  must  be  to 
himself,  it  has  arisen  from  the  difticulty,  which  we  have  already 

{tointed  out,  of  executing  with  uniform  success  a  somewhat  pecu- 
iar  and  complicated  plan.  We  are  free  to  say,  however,  that  no 
one  can  attentively  peruse  this  volume  without  having  fully,  and 


CRITICAL  NOTICES.  3 

for  the  most  part  clearly,  brought  before  his  mind  the  various 
theories  of  church  government,  and  the  grounds  on  vvhicJi  they 
are  supported,  often  in  the  very  words  of  their  respective  advo- 
cates. This  latter  circumstance,  wliile  it  detracts,  as  we  have 
seen,  from  the  unity  and  absolute  consistency  of  the  author's  own 
argument,  adds  much  to  the  historical  and  literary  interest  of  iiis 
performance.  Its  merit,  in  this  respect,  is  greater  than  any  but 
an  attentive  reader  would  imagine.  We  are  constantly  surprised 
at  the  industry  with  which  all  accessible  authorities  have  been 
resorted  to,  and  so  citeJ  as  to  furnish  the  means  of  more  particular 
examination  on  the  reader's  part.  In  this  the  author  has  done 
wisely,  not  so  much  for  mere  immediate  success  as  for  permanent 
utility  and  reputation!  This  volume,  like  its  predecessor,  will  be 
apt  to  alarm  American  readers  by  its  bulk  and  show  of  erudition 
Those  who  have  been  nourished  on  the  modern  diet  of  newspa- 
pers and  cheap  literature  have  little  taste  or  stomach  for  more  solid 
aliment.  But  even  some  who  are  at  first  repelled  by  the  magni- 
tude and  copious  contents  of  the  volume,  may  hereafter  resort  to 
it  as  a  guide  to  the  original  sources  of  information,  and  thus  be  led 
to  read  the  whole.  In  this  connexion,  we  must  not  omit  to  men- 
lion  a  valuable  catalogue  or  index  of  the  most  important  works 
upon  the  subject,  which  the  author  has  prepared,  and'appended  to 
the  volume.  Most  of  these  works  are  in  his  own  possession,  and 
have  been  employed  in  the  construction  of  this  treatise. 

Another  creditable  feature  of  the  work,  considered  as  an  original 
argument,  is  its  freedom  from  extremes,  and  an  enlarged  view  of 
the  subject  of  church  government,  which  could  never  have  resulted 
from  mere  solitary  speculation,  but  which  has  obviously  flowed, 
in  this  case,  from  an  extensive  comparison  of  opinions  with  the 
grounds  on  which  they  rest.  By  such  a  process  one  becomes 
aware  that  what  might  otherwise  have  appeared  to  be  a  happy 
discovery  is  nothing  more  than  an  exploded  error,  and  that  much 
is  to  be  said,  and  has  been  said,  in  favor  of  opinions,  which  dog- 
matical ignorance  would  at  once  set  down  as  obsolete  absurdities. 
We  think  it  the  more  necessary  to  make  this  general  commenda- 
tory statement,  because  we  differ  from  the  author  as  to  some  points, 
both  of  his  reasoning  and  interpretation,  only  one  or  two  of  which 
could  be  even  hinted  at  on  this  occasion. 

These  are  particulars  in  which  our  native  publications  are  too 
commonly  defective,  and  which  we  hope  will  contribute  to  the 
circulation  of  the  one  before  us,  abroad  as  well  as  at  home.  On 
the  whole,  we  look  upon  the  volume  as  another  pleasing  and  credit- 
able proof  of  what  may  be  accomplished  by  untiring  industry,  not 
only  in  retirement  or  in  academical  stations,  but  amidst  the  labors 
of  an  important  pastoral  charge.  That  such  a  situation  is  no  ex- 
cuse for  idleness,  is  clear  from  such  examples  as  those  of  Mr. 
Smyth  and  Mr.  Barnes. 


4  CRITICAL  NOTICES. 

From  the  American  Biblical  Repository. 

Ecclesiastical  Republicanism,  &c. — Mr.  Smyth  is  already 
well  known  and  duly  appreciated  as  the  author  of  several  volumes 
on  ecclesiastical  polity,  Apostolical  succession.  Presbytery  and  not 
Prelacy  Scriptural,  Ecclesiastical  Catechism,  &c.  The  present 
volume  is  designed  to  show  that  Presbytery  is  preeminently  repub- 
lican, that  it  is  liberal  and  catholic,  and  admirably  adapted,  in  its 
principles,  both  dogmatical  and  ecclesiastical,  to  our  system  of 
civil  polity. 

We  have  always  wondered  how  those  who  hold  to  episcopacy 
could  contend  for  its  republicanism  and  adaptedness  to  our  system 
of  representative  government.  It  seems  to  us  too  manifest  to  be 
denied,  without  a  blush,  that  the  principles  of  presbytery,  in  its 
extended  sense,  are  precisely  those  which  lie  at  the  basis  of  our 
political  structure,  that  they  are  essentially  liberal  and  republican, 
and  equalled  by  no  others  in  their  accordance  with  the  free  spirit 
of  our  popular  government. 

The  author  has  done  his  part  well,  and  his  work  merits  the 
commendation  of  all  non-episcopal,  and  the  attention  of  all  epis- 
copal communions.  At  the  present  crisis,  it  is  especially  demand- 
ed, when  so  lofty  claims  are  set  up  by  those  who  deem  themselves 
the  only  conservators  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  God's  house. 
May  the  writer  be  rewarded  for  his  work  of  faith  ! 

Presbytery  and  not  Prelacy,  &c. — It  is  not  in  our  power 
now  to  devote  as  much  space  to  a  notice  of  this  work  as  its  merits 
certainly  would  justify.  It  is  well  worthy  of  an  extended  review, 
and  we  should  be  pleased  to  have  one  offered  for  our  pages,  as 
we  fear  our  own  pressing  and  multiplied  engagements  will  not 
allow  us  the  time  necessary  for  its  preparation. 

Mr  Smyth  has  taken  hold  of  a  great  subject  with  great  zeal, 
and  stands  up  manfully  in  defence  of  non-episcopal  polity.  The 
day  seems  to  have  come  when  we  must  again  buckle  on  the  armor 
for  a  conflict  with  the  papacy  and  sub-papacy,  or  Newmania  ! 
We  must  show  the  people  that  we  stand  on  solid  ground,  when 
we  maintain  the  parity  of  the  ministry,  and  undertake  to  substan- 
tiate our  claims  to  as  liigh  and  holy  a  succession,  and  as  rightful 
and  regular  an  administration  of  the  ordinances  of  Christ's  house, 
as  ever  belonged  to  Pope  or  Prelate. 

But  to  the  volume.  Mr.  Smyth  has  here  furnished  an  armory, 
where  the  presbyter  can  be  readily  supplied  with  a  panoply,  all- 
sulKcient  for  his  defence  against  the  hottest  onsets  of  his  antago- 
nists, and  indeed  one  in  which  he  can  go  forth  with  confidenco 
of  victory. 


CRITICAL  NOTICEi.  0 

From  the  Southern  Quarterly  Review,  for  October,  1843. 

It  was  with  much  pleasure  that  we  noticed,  the  other  day,  that 
Princeton  College,  N.  J.,  had  conferred  on  the  learned  and  pious 
author  of  this  work,  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  in  Divinity, 
No  Southern  Divine  is  more  worthy  of  the  high  distinction,  and 
the  Faculty  of  that  time-honored  institution  have  exhibited  a 
pioper  discrimination,  in  this  instance,  which  will  meet  with  the 
approval,  not  only  of  the  friends  of  that  gentleman,  but  of  the 
whole  body  of  scholars  throughout  the  South.  Dr.  Smyth  has, 
after  many  years  of  laborious  research,  at  length  completed  his 
great  work  on  "  Presbytery  and  Prelacy,"  which  is  a  monument 
at  once  of  his  learning,  his  industry,  and  his  impartiality.  It  is 
an  argument  in  behalf  of  Christian  liberty,  in  which  he  advocates, 
in  a  style  of  great  force  and  elegance,  and  with  profound  learning, 
"principles  which  are  common  to  Congregationalists,  Presbyte- 
rians, Reformed  Dutch,  Lutherans,  Baptists,  and  Methodists." 

We  have  just  received  these  works,  and,  amidst  a  multiplicity 
of  engagements,  have  not  yet  had  time  to  give  them  more  than  a 
cursory  perusal.  Our  impressions  are,  upon  the  whole,  most 
favorable.  We  intend  to  place  them  in  the  hands  of  an  eminent 
Presbyterian  theologian,  for  the  purpose  of  review, — a  respect 
which  is  due  to  their  high  literary  character. 


From,  the  JVew-  York  Tribune. 

Presbvtery  and  not  Prelacy  the  Scriptural  and  Primitive 
Polity.  By  Thomas  Smyth.  New-York :  Leavitt,  Trow  <fc 
Co.,  194  Broadway. 

This  book  professedly  enters  into  the  controversy  between  dif- 
ferent religious  sects;  and  it  is  obviously  improper  for  us  to  ex- 
press an  opinion  as  to  the  conclusiveness  of  the  argument  which 
the  author  has  made.  But  we  readily  bear  full  testimony  to  the 
learning,  the  ability,  industry,  and  enthusiasm  which  the  author 
has  brought  into  the  very  important  discussion  with  which  the 
book  is  occupied.  He  professes  to  place  himself  upon  ground  held 
in  common  by  all  denominations  of  Christians  except  Prelalists 
and  Papists,  and  comes  forward  as  a  representative  of  them  all, 
against  Episcopacy  in  any  form.  He  regards  the  present  day  as  a 
most  important  crisis  in  this  great  discussion.  The  efforts  of  the 
Roman  and  Episcopal  Churches  to  establish  their  exclusive  right 
to  be  considered  the  true  and  primitive  Church,  which  are  perhaps 
more  rigorous  and  general  than  they  have  been  heretofore,  render 
necessary,  in  his  opinion,  more  labored  fundamental  arguments  in 
defence  of  non-episcopal  tenets.  He  has  accordingly  sought  to 
furnish  in  this  work  an  armory  whence  proofs  and  authorities  may 


6  CRITICAL  NOTICES. 

be  drawn  in  the  controversy.  In  the  first  book  he  aims  to  »now 
from  the  Holy  Scriptures  that  Presbytery  is  the  Apostolical  order 
of  the  Church  of  Christ;  he  does  this  by  referring  to  the  condition 
of  the  Church  at  the  time  of  and  immediately  after  the  Saviour's 
ministry,  by  appealing  to  the  Apostolic  age  of  the  Church,  and  by 
showing  that  presbyteries  are  clothed  by  Apostolic  authority  with 
the  functions  of  the  ministry  and  by  divine  right  with  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction  aud  the  power  of  ordination.  In  the  second  book  he 
attempts  to  show  the  same  points  by  an  appeal  to  the  Fatners , 
and  the  third  book  treats  of  the  antiquity  of  Presbytery,  with  an 
exhibition  of  the  presbyterianism  of  the  ancient  Culdees  of  Ireland 
and  Scotland,  and  also  of  St.  Patrick.  From  this  statement  the 
theological  reader  will  readily  infer  the  extent  and  nature  of  the 
argument,  which  is  conducted  by  the  author  with  signal  ability 
and  learning.  The  work  cannot  fail  to  be  highly  useful,  and  must 
be  greatly  prized  by  those  who  feel  a  decided  interest  in  these 
discussions.  Mr.  Smyth  is  a  well-known  divine  of  South  Caroli- 
na, and  is  the  author  of  several  other  religious  works  of  merit  and 
popularity.  The  present  work  is  published  in  a  very  neat  form, 
on  clear  type,  in  an  octavo  volume  of  nearly  600  pages. 

Ecclesiastical  Republicanism.     By  Thomas  Smyth.     New- 
York  :  Leavitt,  Trow  &  Co.,  194  Broadway. 

The  purpose  of  this  work  is  to  disprove  the  determined  claim, 
which  the  Prelatic  and  Romish  Churches  are  said  to  prefer,  to  a 
greater  conformity  in  spirit  and  in  order  to  our  republican  institu- 
tions than  any  other  denominations.  The  author  is  w^ell  known 
to  the  religious  public  as  the  author  of  several  works  upon  subjects 
nearly  allied  to  this  ;  and  his  present  work  is  the  result  of  certain 
studies  into  which  he  was  compelled  quite  largely  to  enter  in  the 
progress  of  preparing  those  already  issued.  The  subject  is  evi- 
dently one  of  great  and  growing  importance;  and  those  who  take 
an  interest  in  it  will  find  it  here  discussed  with  great  learning  and 
ability.  The  argument  is  condensed,  and  yet  comprehensive  ; 
and  we  commend  the  work  to  the  attention  of  those  for  whom  it 
was  specially  written. 


From  the  JVezc-  York  Evangelist. 

We  expected  to  find  the  evidences  of  learning,  research,  can- 
dor, and  signal  ability  in  this  volume,  and  have  not  been  disap- 
fiointed.  The  author  is  a  clear  and  cogent  reasoner,  an  honest 
over  of  the  truth,  and  possesses  a  kind  Christian  spirit,  and  rare 
qualifications  for  the  work  to  which  he  has  addressed  himself 
The  claims  of  Prelacy  are  examined  in  all  their  aspects,  and  aie 


CRITICAL  NOTICES.  7 

frankly  met  and  fairly  disposed  of.  We  hardly  know  how  any 
question,  not  within  the  reach  of  a  mathematical  demonstration, 
could  be  more  effectually  settled.  We  cannot  coincide  with  all 
the  views  taken,  but  the  main  citadel  he  has  so  completely  carried, 
that  we  cannot  withhold  our  voice  from  the  chorus  of  victory. 

Ecclesiastical  Republicanism;  or,  the  Republicanism,  Liber- 
ality, and  Catholicity  of  Presbytery,  in  contrast  with  Prelacy 
and  Popery.     By  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth.     12mo. 

The  author's  design  has  been  to  show  the  despotic  tendencies 
of  Popery  and  Prelacy,  by  contrasting  with  them  the  free,  liberal, 
and  catholic  influence  of  non-Episcopal  forms  of  church  govern- 
ment. The  term  "Presbytery"  he  applies  in  a  generic  sense,  to 
all  denominations  who  reject  prclatical  bishops.  He  maintains 
its  republican  tendency  in  its  ecclesiastical  and  doctrinal  charac- 
ter, and  presents  an  array  of  facts  and  arguments  which  show  the 
danger  of  the  sects  he  opposes.  The  work  is  written  in  a  free  and 
animated  style,  well  adapted  for  popular  effect.  It  is  very  timely, 
and  should  find  many  readers. 


From  the  New-York  Observer. 

Ecclesiastical  Republicanism  ;  or  the  Republicanism,  Liberal- 
ity, and  Catholicity  of  Presbytery,  in  contrast  with  Prelacy  and 
Popery.  By  Thomas  Smyth,  Author  of  Lectures  on  the  Apos- 
tolical Succession,  &c. 

An  eloquent  and  able  treatise  on  a  delicate  subject,  and  unless 
we  mistake  the  temper  of  the  times,  the  book  will  attract  some 
attention  and  provoke  discussion.  Particularly  will  it  be  an  off'en- 
sive  doctrine  to  many  that  Presbyterianism  is  more  congenial  to 
our  free  institutions  than  other  forms  of  church  government;  but 
this  point  our  author  defends  valiantly  by  history  and  argument. 

Mr.  Smyth  is  one  of  the  most  voluminous  writers  of  the  day. 
But  his  books  are  not  merely  volumes.  They  are  the  result  of 
deep  study  and  minute  investigation,  and  as  such  are  worthy  of 
being  read  by  intelligent  men. 

"Presbytery  and   not  Prelacy  the  Scriptural  and  Primitive 
Polity,"  &c. 

The  author  of  this  handsome  octavo  of  550  pages,  is  Rev. 
Thomas  Smyth,  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  whose  former  works  have 
introduced  him  to  the  favorable  notice  of  the  public  as  an  expert 
controversialist,  a  diligent  student,  and  a  man  of  extensive  research 
and  considerable  vigor  of  mind.  In  the  book  before  us  he  has 
with  labor,  which  we  do  not  envy  him,  collected  a  vast  array  ot 


8  CRITICAL  NOTICES. 

testimony  from  Scripture,  the  fathers,  the  schoolmen,  the  reform« 
ers,  and  the  English  and  Oriental  churches,  to  show  the  antiquity 
of  Presbytery,  and  to  establish  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  his 
work,  that  Presbytery  is  the  Apostolic  and  Scriptural  form  of 
church  government. 

At  this  time  very  many  clergymen  and  laymen  are  turning  their 
attention  anew  and  with  zeal  to  the  investigation  of  this  subject; 
and  to  all  such,  whether  Episcopalians  or  Presbyterians,  we  com- 
mend this  volume,  as  a  valuable  digest  of  the  evidence  in  favor  of 
the  Presbyterial  side  of  the  question.  Clergymen  who  are  writing 
on  the  subject  will  here  find  reference  to  numerous  authors,  and 
will  be  spared  the  labor  of  much  investigation  by  consulting  Mr. 
Smyth's  armory.  It  may  be  found  at  the  principal  bookstores  in 
the  chief  cities  of  the  United  States. 


From  the  Christian  Observer. 

This  handsome  volume  is  an  octavo  in  size,  containing  about 
570  pages,  printed  on  fine  paper  and  in  excellent  style.  It  is 
divided  into  three  books,  which  are  also  subdivided  into  chapters. 

Such,  briefly,  is  the  ground  occupied  by  this  volume.  We  have 
no  personal  acquaintance  with  the  writer — but  we  regard  his  work 
as  important  and  valuable,  and  well  adapted  to  promote  the  inte- 
rests of  truth.  The  great  subject,  which  he  has  ably  discussed,  is 
assuming  new  importance  in  the  estimation  of  the  public.  The 
claims  of  Prelacy,  and  the  ominous  movements  in  the  Episcopal 
Church,  are  calling  attention  to  it.  Many  minds  are  awake  to 
the  tendencies  of  Prelacy,  watching  its  developments  as  affecting 
the  purity  of  Christian  doctrine,  tiie  spirituality  of  the  Church,  and 
the  rights  of  Christian  men.  Many  are  seeking  information  and 
truth  on  this  subject.  To  such,  this  work  will  be  truly  accepta- 
ble. Its  numerous  extracts  from  the  works  of  distinguished 
writers  of  every  period  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  will  render 
it  highly  valuable  to  ministers,  to  students,  and  to  the  class  of 
general  readers  to  which  we  have  just  referred. 

Of  the  work  on  Ecclesiastical  Republicanism,  this  paper  says  : — 

The  character  of  this  work  is  indicated  by  its  title.  The  sub- 
jects ably  discussed  in  it  are  important  and  worthy  of  the  attention 
of  American  citizens,  &c. 


From  the  JS'eio  England  Puritan. 

We  have  read  this  book  with  much  satisfaction.     It  is  the  frui> 
of  extensive  research.     The  author  has  had  access  to  abundam 


CRITICAL  NOTICES.  V 

materials,  und  has  well  improved  his  advantage.  He  is  a  san- 
guine ex  animo  and  jure  divino  Presbyterian  ;  and  his  predilec- 
tions have  led  him  into  some  errors.  He  finds  Presbyterianism 
where  we  find  Congregationalism.  Indeed,  we  can  hardly  quar- 
rel with  him  for  this;  since  his  definition  of  Presbyterianism  is 
po  broad,  as  to  embrace  such  men  as  Dr.  Owen.  Let  us  have 
Presbyterianism  after  Dr.  Owen's  stamp,  and  we  concede  that  the 
Scriptures  and  the  Primitive  Church  favor  it. 

With  the  exception  above  named,  the  argument  of  the  book  is 
powerful  and  conclusive.  It  is  not  only  a  valuable  offering  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  but  it  will  be  read  with  profit  by  all  denomi- 
nations;  and  we  hope  it  will  have  an  extensive  circulation. 


From  the  Christian  Watchman. 

The  plan  and  design  of  the  author  are  briefly  indicated  by  the 
title-page.  He  has  dedicated  his  work  to  the  Presbyterian,  Con- 
gregational, Reformed  Dutch,  German  Lutheran,  Methodist,  and 
Baptist  denominations,  and  declares  in  his  preface  that  the  aim  of 
the  work  is  catholic  and  not  sectarian. 

The  subject  embraced  in  this  treatise,  describes  the  great  battle- 
field on  which  are  to  meet  the  friends  and  the  opposers  of  evan- 
gelical piety  All  mankind  must  have  a  religion.  Enlightened 
nations  cannot  tolerate  idolatry,  it  is  too  absurd.  It  matters  little 
what  the  form  is,  if  it  have  not  the  elements  of  evangelical  piety. 
The  gospel  plan  is  simple.  It  is  sustained  and  carried  forward 
by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  If  you  set  aside  this  plan,  you 
must  have  pomp  and  ceremony,  and  the  natural  tendency  is  to  a 
priesthood. 

The  work  of  Mr.  Smyth  is  elaborate.  He  seems  to  have  sur- 
veyed the  whole  ground,  and  has  been  at  great  expense  in  col- 
lecting and  digesting  whatever  has  been  written  upon  the  subject. 
With  the  peculiar  views  of  the  author  on  the  subject  of  Presby- 
terianism as  opposed  to  Congregationalism,  we  have  no  sympathy, 
but  in  the  main  question  we  concur  with  him. 

The  work  is  divided  into  three  books,  «fec. 


From  the  Presbyterian  (Pittsburgh)  Advocate. 

We   have   also  received  by  the  kindness  of  the   author,  Rev. 
Thomas  Smyth,  of  Charleston,   S.  C  ,  his  recent  elaborate  work, 
entitled — "  Presbytery  and  not  Prelacy  the  Scriptural  and  Primi 
tive    Polity"   of  the   Christian   Church.     This   book    consists   of 
twenty-four  chapters,  and  is  a  learned  and  elaborate  discussion  of 


10  CRITICAL  NOTICES. 

the  important  topics  brought  under  review  in  the  controversy  on 
Church  Government  with  Papists  and  Prelatists.  The  design  of 
the  writer,  as  he  informs  us,  was  to  condense  the  substance  of  the 
innumerable  treatises  which  have  been  written  on  the  subject,  and 
to  arrange  their  various  topics  in  a  more  complete  and  compre- 
hensive order,  so  as  to  present  them  in  as  perfect,  clear,  and  satis- 
factory a  manner  as  the  limits  of  a  single  volume  would  permit. 
That  Mr.  Smyth  has  succeeded  in  his  design,  is  testified  Dy  many 
competent  witnesses,  such  as  the  Biblical  Repertory,  and  others 
of  the  same  high  standing.  After  years  of  laborious  research  and 
comparison  of  the  views  of  a  large  number  of  the  ablest  writers 
upon  the  subject,  he  has  given  us  the  result  in  this  handsome 
octavo  of  560  pages.  It  is  very  neatly  got  up,  arid  printed  upon 
fine  paper;  and  un  connection  with  an  equally  elaborate  and 
applauded  work,  on  the  Apostolical  Succession,  and  a  third  on 
Ecclesiastical  Republicanism,  all  issued  within  a  few  years,  forms 
a  very  creditable  testimony  to  the  genius  and  industry  of  the 
author.     These  works  may  be  had  at  Carter's,  Market-street. 

By  a  private  note  from  the  same  author,  we  are  gratified  to  learn 
that  the  third  edition  of  his  "Ecclesiastical  Catechism,"  will  be 
immediately  issued  from  the  press.  This  manual  of  instruction, 
designed  to  explain  in  familiar  question  and  answer,  the  Presby- 
terian form  of  Church  Government,  has  also  received  high  com- 
mendation from  various  most  respectable  sources. 


From  the  JYorth  American. 

Presbytery  and  not  Prelacy  the  Scriptural  and  Primitive 
Polity,  proved  from  the  testimony  of  Scripture,  the  Fathers,  the 
Schoolmen,  the  Reformers,  and  the  English  and  Orienral 
Churches.  Also,  the  Antiquity  of  Presbytery,  including  an 
account  of  the  ancient  Culdees  and  of  St.  Patrick.  By  Thomas 
Smyth,  author  of  Lectures  on  the  Apostolic  Succession,  &lc. 

This  is  an  octavo  volume,  beautifully  printed,  and  containing 
600  pages.  It  is  for  sale  by  W.  S.  Martien,  S.  E.  corner  of  Seventh 
and  George  streets.  As  the  work  of  a  most  able  and  learned 
writer,  it  will  doubtless  be  extensively  read  among  all  classes  of 
Protestants  whose  faith  and  discipline'  are  adverse  to  Episcopal 
government.     More  than  this  it  is  not  the  part  of  our  press  to  say. 


From  the  JV.  Y.  Journal  of  Cmmerce. 

Smyth  on  Presbytery  and  Prelacy. — The  title-page  of  this 
elaborate  work  indicates  the  object  and  design  of  the  author.  It 
is  as  follows  :— i 


CRITICAL  NOTICES.  11 

Presbytery  and  not  Prelacy  the  Scriptural  and  Primitive  Polity, 
proved  from  the  testimonies  of  Scripture,  the  Fathers,  the 
Schoolmen,  the  Reformers,  and  the  English  and  Oriental 
Churches.  Also,  the  Antiquity  of  Presbytery,  including  an 
account  of  the  Ancient  Culdees,  and  of  St.  Patrick.  By  Thomas 
Smyth,  author  of  Lectures  on  the  Apostolical  Succession,  &c. 

The  author  declares  the  aim  of  the  work  to  be  catholic,  and  not 
sectarian.  He  has  dedicated  it  to  the  Presbyterian,  Congrega- 
tional, Reformed  Dutch,  German  Lutheran,  Methodist,  and  Bap- 
tist denominations,  whose  common  principles  of  ecclesiastical 
order,  in  contrast  with  those  of  Prelacy  and  Popery,  it  is  mainly 
designed  to  advocate. 

Here,  in  the  compass  of  an  octavo  volume  of  540  pages,  Mr. 
Smyth  has  condensed  the  substance  of  all  that  is  valuable  in  the 
innumerable  treatises  that  have  been  published  on  this  great  con- 
troversy. In  the  collection  of  these  works  in  London  and  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe,  great  expense  was  incurred  ;  and  in  perusing, 
collating,  and  digesting  them,  the  labor  of  years  has  been  applied. 
The  lucid  arrangement  adopted  by  the  author  tends  much  to  en- 
hance the  interest  of  the  various  topics  so  ably  and  satisfactorily 
discussed.  The  work  is  divided  into  three  Books,  each  of  which 
is  subdivided  into  several  chapters.  Book  L  is  designed  to  show 
that  Presbytery,  (under  which  term  the  author  includes  those 
generic  principles  common  to  all  the  non-Episcopal  Christian 
denominations,)  is  the  Scriptural  and  Apostolic  order  of  the  Church 
of  Christ.  In  Book  II.  the  claims  of  Presbytery  to  the  true  Apos- 
tolic or  ministerial  succession  are  sustained  by  an  appeal  to  the 
Fathers,  the  Schoolmen,  the  Reformers,  and  to  the  Romish,  Angli- 
can, and  other  Churches.  Book  III.  treats  of  the  antiquity  of 
Presbytery  ;  and  describes  the  Presbyterianism  of  the  ancient  Cul- 
dees of  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  also  of  St.  Patrick. 

*********** 

Smyth  on  Ecclesiastical  Republicanism. — The  necessity 
of  compressing  the  preceding  work  within  the  briefest  compass, 
compelled  the  author  to  leave  out  certain  chapters  originally  de- 
signed to  be  embodied  in  it.  Part  of  these  related  to  the  republi- 
canism, liberality,  and  catholicity  of  Presbytery,  in  contrast  with 
Prelacy  and  Popery.  These  have  been  published  in  a  duodecimo 
volume  of  300  pages  and  upwards,  bearing  the  title  prefixed  to 
this  paragraph.  The  author  successfully  exposes  the  futility  of 
the  arguments  commonly  advanced  in  favor  of  the  claim  preferred 
by  the  Prelatic  and  Romish  Churches,  to  an  exclusive  catholicity, 
und  to  a  greater  liberality  than  other  denominations.  In  contrast- 
ing the  difterent  ecclesiastical  systems,  he  shows  triumphantly  the 
superior  adaptation  of  Presbytery  to  the  system  of  our  republican 


12  CRITICAL  N0TICE8. 

government — its  greater  conformity,  in  spirit  and  in  order,  to  our 
institutions. 


From  the  Presbyterian. 

■  Not  long  since  we  had  the  pleasure  of  commending  to  the  notice 
of  our  readers  an  octavo  volume  on  the  Apostolical  Succession, 
from  the  author  whose  fertile  pen  has  now  produced  the  two 
above  named  works.  As  our  readers  may  perceive,  these  volumes 
bear  upon  the  same  great  subject,  and  are  tlie  results  of  much 
study,  and  very  extensive  reading.  *  *  *  *  As  in  his  "  Apostoli- 
cal Succession,"  so  in  these  volumes,  Mr.  Smyth  has  investigated 
liis  subject  thoroughly,  and  constructed  a  full  and  conclusive  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  Presbyterianism.  In  the  former  work,  the  claims 
of  Presbytery  as  the  true  Apostolical  order  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
are  sustained  in  an  argument  of  much  force  and  great  variety. 

Tlie  second  work,  on  "Ecclesiastical  Republicanism,"  is  one 
peculiarly  suited  to  the  times.  The  author  vi'ry  successfully 
proves  that  Presbytery  is  republican  in  its  doctrinal  and  ecclesi- 
astical systems.  He  investigates  its  structure,  and  from  every 
part  of  it  deduces  this  character  of  it,  and  not  only  so,  but  proves 
that  in  comparison  with  other  forms  of  Church  polity,  it  is  pre- 
eminently so.  It  indeed  constitutes  the  best  defence  of  Presbyte- 
rianism against  the  current  slanders  of  the  day,  with  which  we 
have  met,  and  while  we  hope  the  former  work  will  find  an  hon 
orable  place  in  the  library  at  least  of  every  Presbyterian  clergy- 
man, this  we  should  hope  will  be  found  in  every  Presbyterian 
family  as  well  adapted  to  popular  reading.  Hoping  that  these 
books  will  be  reviewed  in  our  Monthlies  and  Quarterlies,  we  con- 
clude our  short  notice  of  them  with  thanks  to  the  author  for  his 
indefatigable  labor  in  these  particular  departments,  to  which  the 
controversies  of  the  day  have  given  unusual  prominence.  Prehicy 
with  its  arrogant  pretensions  will  and  must  be  defeated  by  the  re 
eistance  which  it  is  nov/  arousing. 


From  the  Charleston  Courier. 

Two  very  able  polemic  works,  the  one  entitled  "  Presbytery 
and  not  Prelacy  the  Scriptural  and  Primitive  Polity,"  and  the 
other,  "  Ecclesiastical  Republicanism,"  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Smyth,  have  been  received  and  are  for  sale  at  the  dif- 
ferent bookstores  in  this  city.  The  author  in  the  composition 
of  these  works  has  shown  himself  an  able  controversialist,  reason- 
ing with  clearness  and  cogency,  and  exhibiting  great  learning  and 


CRITICAL  NuriCEd.  13 

research.  These  volumes  certainly  place  him  high  as  a  writer, 
and  entitle  him  to  rank  among  the  foremost  as  a  champion  of  his 
Church.  Our  neutrality  on  matters  of  religious  controversy  pre- 
cludes us  from  an  examination  of  the  subjects  discussed;  and  we 
therefore  simply  refer  our  readers  to  the  following  notices  of  these 
works,  in  other  papers,  to  show  the  estimation  in  which  they  are 
held. 


From  a  Writer  in  the  Charleston  Courier. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Smyth's  promised  Treatise  on  Presbytery  and 
Prelacy,  has  at  last  appeared,  and  will  be  found  to  sustain,  in 
every  way,  his  high  reputation  as  a  polemic  and  a  controversial 
writer.  In  fact,  he  has  proved  himself  absolute  master  of  hia 
subject,  and  fully  competent  to  its  discussion  throughout  the  mi- 
nutest details. 

In  the  present  work  he  assumes,  however,  a  new  position,  and 
deserting  his  former  posture  of  defence,  assails  his  opponents  with 
singular  vigor  and  dexterity.  There  are,  of  course,  two  sides  to 
every  question  ;  but  he  has  fortified  his  views  with  such  abun- 
dance of  quotation  from  authority,  such  fertility  of  illustration,  and 
such  ingenuity  of  reasoning,  that  we  shall  wait  with  some  impa- 
tience of  curiosity  to  see  what  grounds  of  reply  have  been  left  to 
his  antagonists. 

Whatever  else  may  result  from  these  disputes,  one  thing  is  cer- 
tain ;  that  no  theological  library  can  be  considered  as  properly 
furnished,  in  regard  to  this  topic,  which  shall  not  contain  these 
well-written  and  highly  interesting  volumes. 


From  the  Rambler,  by  John  B.  Irving,  M.  D.  (Charleston,  S.  C.) 

Smyth's  works  on  Presbytery  and  Prelacy  and  Ecclesiastical 
Republicanism,  from  the  press  of  Crocker  &  Brewster,  Boston, 
are  before  us. 

The  rule  we  have  laid  down  for  ourself  in  the  conduct  of  the 
Rambler,  forbids  our  entering  into  the  discussion  of  any  subject 
connected  either  with  politics  or  religion;  but  we  are  bound  in 
justice  to  Southern  Literature,  to  notice  in  the  most  favorable 
manner  the  works  before  us,  evidencing  as  they  do  the  research 
and  fine  literary  attainments  of  the  author.  These  publications, 
like  many  others,  should  be  attentively  read  by  all  seeking  the 
truth — "  either  to  make  or  break  a  faith."  For  our  own  part  we 
are  free  to  confess  that  ice  have  no  prejudices,  and  cheerfully  read 
any  work  put  into  our  hands  on  doctrinal  points,  happy  to  be  set 
right  whenever  it  is  satisfjctorily  proved  to  us,  that  we  have  been 


14  CRITICAL  NOTICES. 

in  error.     Of  all  prejudices  on  earth,  the  most  fatal  to  the  spread 
**f  triitli,  to  peace  and  good  will  among  men,  is  religious  prejudice  ! 


From  the  Southern  Christian  Advocate. 

This  elaborate  Treatise,  from  the  pen  of  our  accomplished  fel- 
low-townsman, the  Rev.  Mr.  Smyth,  is  dedicated  to  the  Presby- 
terian, Congregational,  Reformed  Dutch,  German  Lutheran,  Me- 
thodist, and  Baptist  denominations,  whose  common  principles  of 
ecclesiastical  order,  in  contrast  with  those  of  Prelacy  and  Papacy, 
it  is  mainly  designed  to  advocate.  The  work  is  divided  into  three 
Books :  the  first,  showing  that  Presbytery  is  the  Scriptural  and 
Apostolical  order  of  the  Cliurch  of  Christ :  the  second,  exhibiting 
the  claims  of  Presbytery  to  the  true  Apostolical  or  Ministerial 
Succession,  by  an  appeal  to  the  Fathers,  the  Sclioolmen,  the  Re- 
formers, and  to  the  Romish,  Anglican,  and  other  Churches:  the 
third,  presenting  the  antiquity  of  Presbytery,  with  a  detailed  his- 
toric account  of  the  ancient  Culdees  of  Ireland  and  Scotland. 
The  whole  forms  a  contribution  to  sacred  letters,  for  which  the 
country  in  general,  the  South  in  particular,  is  laid  under  special 
obligations  to  the  author.  The  subject  discussed,  important  at 
any  time,  is  vitally  so  at  the  present  day.  Upon  it  hinges  a  ten 
years'  controversy,  in  which  an  unprecedented  amount  of  learn- 
ing and  vigor  has  been  expended,  and  around  which,  all  that  is 
vital  in  Christianity,  and  hopeful  for  the  redeemed  race  of  man- 
kind, is  gathered. 

Although  we  may  not  go  the  whole  way  with  the  author,  in 
the  minuter  details  of  his  subject,  we  agree  with  him  in  the  lead- 
ing principles  he  advocates,  and  thank  him  for  the  noble  vindica- 
tion which  this  publication,  in  connection  with  his  work  on  Apos. 
tolical  Succession,  asserts  against  the  growing  intolerance  of  the 
times. 

The  work  is  beautifully  printed,  and  for  sale  at  the  Methodist 
Southern  Book-room,  240  King-street. 

Ecclesiastical  Republicanism. — A  Treatise  under  this  title 
has  recently  been  given  to  the  world  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Smyth,  of 
this  city,  who  is  advantageously  known  to  the  Christian  public  as 
the  author  of  several  valuable  works  on  subjects  of  vital  impor- 
tance at  the  present  time  to  Protestant  Christendom.  We  have 
carefully  read  this  publication,  and  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that,  in 
our  opinion,  it  is  one  of  the  author's  best  productions,  both  as  to 
force  of  reasoning  and  finish  of  style. 

*********** 

It  is  but  due  to  Dr.  Smyth  to  add,  and  we  take  pleasure  in  doing 
BO,  that  we  except  his  publications  entirely  from  the  foregoing  cen 


CRITICAL  NOTICES.  15 

suie.  His  notice  of  the  Methodist  E.  Church  in  his  work  on  Ec- 
clesiastical Republicanism,  is  frank  and  kind  ;  and  although  he 
has  not  presented  the  peculiarities  of  its  organization  in  the  point 
of  light  which  we  think  sheer  justice  demands,  yet  he  has  not 
descended  from  the  port  of  the  catholic  Christian,  the  accomplished 
scholar,  the  finished  gentleman,  to  misrepresent  and  injure. 


From  the  Charleston  Observer. 

It  is  about  two  years  since  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smyth,  of  this  city, 
issued  a  large  volume,  entitled  "The  Prelatical  Doctrine  of  the- 
Apo.stolical  Succession  examined,  and  the  Protestant  Ministry 
defended  against  the  assumptions  of  Popery  and  High  Church- 
ism" — and  this  is  now  followed  by  an  8vo  volume  of  nearly  600 
pages.  The  larger  part  of  the  work  is  devoted  to  the  proof  that 
Presbytery  is  the  Scriptural  and  Apostolical  order  of  the  Church. 
Then  the  claims  of  Presbytery  to  the  true  Apostolic  Succession 
are  sustained  by  an  appeal  to  the  Fathers,  the  Schoolmen,  the 
Reformers,  and  to  the  Romish,  Anglican,  and  other  Churches — 
and  the  work  concludes  with  proofs  of  the  antiquity  of  Presby- 
tery ;  with  an  exhibition  of  the  Presbyterianism  of  the  ancient 
Culdees  of  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  also  of  St.  Patrick.  In  de- 
fining his  position,  Mr.  Smyth  maintains  that  Presbyters  are  the 
only  Bishops  recognized  in  the  word  of  God — that  they  are  em- 
powered to  discharge  all  the  offices  and  functions  of  the  Christian 
ministry — that  they  succeed  to  all  that  authority,  and  to  all  those 
duties  which  have  been  devolved,  by  the  Apostles,  upon  their 
successors  in  the  ordinary  and  permanent  ministry  of  the  Gospel, 
and  that  tliere  is  no  other  order  of  Ministers  distinct  from  and 
superior  to  them,  to  whom  is  given  the  exclusive  possession  of  all 
ecclesiastical  authority.  He  then  openly  denies  the  truth  of  the 
position,  as  maintained  by  Prelatists — that  there  are  three  original 
and  distinct  orders  in  the  ministry — Bishops,  Presbyters,  and  Dea- 
cons— each  instituted  by  Divine  right  through  the  inspiration  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  each  of  them  essential  to  the  valid  constitu- 
tion of  a  Church  of  Christ.  His  work  is,  therefore,  both  didactic 
and  polemic.  He  shows  both  what  is,  and  what  is  not,  the  Primi- 
tive, Scriptural,  and  Apostolical  order  of  the  Church.  Besides 
frequent  brief  appeals  to  the  Scriptures,  he  has  brought  about  fifty 
passages  in  particular  illustration  of  the  positions  which  he  has 
assumed  ;  and  his  references  are  numerous  to  the  most  eminent 
writers  on  the  subject,  both  ancient  and  modern.  From  the  rich 
sources  of  information  in  the  possession  of  the  author,  he  could 
have  compiled  a  work  of  great  service  to  the  truth  and  to  the 
Church  ;  but  he  has  done  much  more.  He  has  furnished  as  ori- 
ginal a  production  as  the  nature  of  the  subject  would  admit — 


18  CRITICAL  NOTICES. 

admirably  arranged — and  if  there  be  any  fault,  it  is  in  the  supera- 
bundance of  the  proof  brought  to  sustain  positions  which  cannot 
be  successfully  controverted.  So  that  if  any  should  undertake  to 
answer  it,  they  will  pass  lightly  over  the  main  argument,  and 
seize  upon  some  of  the  appendages  to  which  even  the  author  has 
attached  very  little  value.  It  is  possible  that  Prelatists  may  pass 
this  work  by,  under  the  assumption  that  their  claims  are  beyond 
the  reach  of  any  such  appeal.  But  whether  they  notice  it  or  not, 
it  will  commend  itself  to  the  judgment  and  conscience  of  every 
intelligent  and  impartial  reader.  There  is,  moreover,  very  little, 
if  any  tning,  which  may  properly  be  called  sectarian,  in  the  work 
All  but  Prelatists  may  read  and  enjoy  it,  and  we  feel  no  hesitancy 
in  recommending  it,  especially  to  those  who  are  set  for  the  defence 
of  the  Gospel.  This,  together  with  the  work  on  the  Apostolic 
Succession,  forms  two  of  the  best  Tracts  for  the  Times  with 
which  we  are  acquainted. 


From  the  (N.  Y.)  Baptist  Advocate. 

An  octavo,  of  nearly  600  pages,  handsomely  printed  on  clear 
paper,  and  neatly  bound.  It  is  designed,  not  to  exhibit  and  en- 
force all  the  doctrines  and  views  of  Presbyterianism,  but  merely 
to  prove,  from  Scripture,  history,  and  reason,  that  instead  of  three 
orders  in  the  ministry,  as  Churchmen  claim,  there  was  instituted 
by  the  Apostles,  and  has  continued  throughout  a  great  part  of  the 
Church  till  the  present  day,  but  one  order,  that  of  Presbyters  or 
Elders,  holding  one,  and  a  uniformly  equal  office.  To  sustain  this 
view,  the  author  has  collected  a  mass  of  testimony  and  evidence 
from  ecclesiastical  writers,  which  evinces  a  degree  of  research  not 
often  expended  in  our  day  in  preparing  a  volume  for  the  press. 
The  prelatical  assumptions  of  Puseyism  are  wrested  from  them  by 
the  force  of  weapons  taken  from  the  hands  of  illustrious  Church- 
men, and  little  is  left  to  cover  their  mortified  defeat,  but  their  own 
imperturbable  effrontery. 

The  author  does  not  fail  of  argument,  but  the  chief  merit  of  the 
work  consists  in  its  abundant  and  appropriate  extracts,  quotations, 
and  citations  from  authors  not  accessible  to  many  readers.  Care 
is  taken,  we  believe,  in  every  instance,  to  give  in  a  note  the  book 
and  page  referred  to  in  the  body  of  the  work. 


From  the  Southern  Baptist  Advocate. 

That  these  are  able,  learned,  and,  on  the  whol-e,  candid  works, 
it  needs  not  our  suffrages  to  testify.  Mr.  Smyth,  in  a  commenda- 
ble spirit  of  charity,  would  construe  the  word  Presbytery  as  cm 


CRITICAL  NOTICES.  17 

bracing  the  Eldership  of  all  non-prelatical  Churches.  Let  him 
speak  for  himself  on  this  important  point.  ******  This  first 
work  will  materially  aid  the  young  student  of  ecclesiastical  gov- 
ernment in  arriving  at  that  understanding,  and  as  such,  we  cor- 
dially recommend  it  to  his  attention.  We  wish  we  could  copy 
the  whole  of  Mr  Smyth's  "  Contents,"  but  this  our  limits  do  not 
permit.  Those  of  the  first  three  chapters  of  Book  I.,  and  those 
of  Book  III.,  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  whole. 


From  the  Southern  Chronicle. 

We  have  receivod  of  the  Reverend  Author,  "Presbytery  and 
not  Prelacy  the  Scriptural  and  Primitive  Polity,  proved  from  the 
testimonies  of  Scripture,  the  Fathers,  the  Schoolmen,  the  Reform- 
ers, and  the  English  and  Oriental  Churclies."  Also,  "Ecclesias- 
tical Republicanism  ;  or  the  Republicanisrn,  Liberality,  and  Catho- 
licity of  Presbytery  in  contrast  with  Prelacy  and  Popery  ;"  both 
by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D.,  of  Charleston. 

The  author  is  already  favorably  known  to  the  religious  public 
through  his  "Lectures  on  Apostolical  Succession,"  and  other 
works;  and  although  we  have  not  had  time  to  form  any  opinion 
of  the  merits  of  the  works  before  us,  we  have  no  doubt,  from  his 
established  reputation,  and  character  for  piety  and  learning,  they 
will  be  an  acquisition  to  the  theologian  and  patriot. 


From  the  South  Carolinian. 

In  this  work,  as  we  gather  from  its  preface,  etc.,  not  having  had 
leisure  to  read  it,  the  design  of  the  author  has  been  to  condense 
the  substance  of  all  that  is  valuable  from  the  various  treatises 
which  have  been  written  on  this  great  controversy,  in  England 
and  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  And,  to  arrange  the  various 
topics  in  a  complete  and  comprehensive  order,  the  work  is  divided 
into  three  Books,  each  of  which  is  subdivided  into  several  chap- 
ters. 

The  Rev.  Author  of  these  works  is  an  able  and  accomplished 
scholar,  whose  writings  are  too  well  known  and  too  highly  appre- 
ciated by  the  Christian  community,  to  require  any  encomium  or 
approbation  from  us ;  and  those  before  us  have  elicited  the  high- 
est tc.-:timonials  of  approval  and  regard  from  many  of  the  ablest 
religious  papers  and  most  eminent  divines  in  the  country  ;  from 
among  which,  we  select  the  following,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller, 
than  whom  few,  if  any,  can  have  higher  or  more  deserved  influ- 
ence with  those  who  concur  with  him  in  religious  dcctrines  : 

"We  return  our  sincere  thanks  to  the  respected  and  gifted  au- 
thor, for  the  volumes  before  us,  whose  high  character  cannot  fail 
6* 


18  CRITICAL  NOTICES. 

to   command   from    us,   as  from   others,  an  early   and  attentive 
perusal. 


From  the  Protestant  and  Herald. 
Prf.sbytery  and  not  Prelacy  the  Scriptural  and  Primitive 
Polity:  also.  The  Antiquity  of  Presbytery,  including  an 
account  of  the  Ancient  Culdees,  and  of  St.  Patrick,  pp.  568. 
Ecclesiastical  Republicanism,  or  the  Republicanism,  Libe- 
rality, and  Catholicity  of  Presbytery,  in  contrast  with  Prelacy 
and  Popery,  by  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D.,  Charleston,  S.  C. 
pp.  323. 

We  are  under  obligations  to  the  learned  author  for  copies  of 
the  above  works,  which  were  sent  to  us  some  time  since,  and 
have  not  been  noticed  heretofore,  because,  on  account  of  absence 
from  home,  we  have  not  had  time  to  peruse  them.  They  have 
been  for  some  months  before  the  public,  and  have  called  forth 
the  almost  entire  approbation  of  the  whole  anti-Prelatical  Chris- 
tian community.  The  subject  of  Church  Government  seems  to 
be  undergoing  a  thorough  revision,  by  almost  the  entire  Chris- 
tian world  at  the  present  time,  in  consequence  of  the  arrogant 
claims  of  Prelatists  to  the  Episcopal  being  the  only  true  Church. 
This  controversy  has  not  hitherto  agitated  the  Western  Churches 
to  any  considerable  extent,  from  the  fact  that  the  Episcopal  Church 
is  quite  small  as  to  numbers  and  influence  amongst  us  ;  still  it 
will,  sooner  or  later,  reach  us,  and  we  shall  be  compelled  to  meet 
it  in  some  shape.  We  know  of  no  better  method  of  preparing  for 
it,  than  to  purchase  and  study  tiiese  volumes.  The  author  exhib- 
its great  industry  and  research,  and  being  the  possessor  of  one  of 
the  best  private  libraries  in  our  country,  he  has  had  access  to 
almost  every  work  that  has  ever  been  written  upon  these  subjects 
He  possesses  a  strong  mind  and  rather  lively  imagination,  which 
give  to  his  style  a  vivacity  v/hich  makes  those  portions  of  these 
works,  which  are  comparatively  uninteresting,  quite  readable. — 
He  draws  his  arguments  from  Scripture,  the  Fathers,  the  School- 
men, the  Reformers,  and  the  English  and  Oriental  Churches.  He 
shows  that  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government  not  only  has  the 
sanction  of  Scripture  and  antiquity,  but  that  it  is  pre-eminently 
favorable  to  civil  and  religious  liberty.  The  author  has  laid  the 
Presbyterian  Church  under  deep  and  lasting  obligation,  for  this  able 
defence  of  her  government  and  order.  Her  ministers  and  elders 
will  be  unfaithful  to  their  trust,  should  thoy  fail  to  avail  themselves 
of  these  facilities  for  defending  her  from  the  attacks  of  her  enemies, 
when  placed  within  their  reach.  The  paper,  type,  and  binding, 
are  all  very  good.  The  works  are  for  sale  in  Cincinnati.  We 
have  marked  several  extracts  for  our  paper. 


jJOHlf   Fo   1'®®W   <^ 


FAHY'S 


Book  an6  3ob 


PRINTING  OmCE, 


33  AND  33i^  ANN-STREET. 


JOHN    F.    TROW    AND    COMPANY  S 

The  Proprietors  of  this  Establishment  have  completed  their  arrange- 
ments to  execute 

BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINTING 

in  the  most  expeditious  and  handsome  manner. 

The  foregoing  cut  gives  a  correct  view  of  their  premises,  a  description 
of  which  may  not  be  out  of  place  here. 

There  is  extended  through  the  whole  front  under  the  street,  a  large 
and  substantial  Vault  for  stereotype  plates,  where  the  plates  of  our  patrons 
are  deposited  without  charge,  and  where  they  are  beyond  the  risk  of  fire. 

In  the  basement  of  No.  33  are  the  Engine  and  Boiler,  and  a  Double 
Cylinder  Power  Press. 

The  whole  power  requisite  to  drive  a  large  number  of  power  presses, 
and  sufficient  heat  to  warm  all  the  apartments  above,  are  obtained  from 
this  engine  and  boiler.  The  manner  of  obtaining  the  heat,  and  distribut- 
ing it,  is  somewhat  peculiar.  A  large  oblong  chest,  made  of  copper  and 
filled  with  copper  tubes,  receives  the  exhaust  steam,  which  creates  great 
heat  in  this  chest;  connected  with  this  is  a  blower  driven  by  steam,  by 
which  the  air  is  blown  through  the  heated  copper  pipes  into  all  the  rooms 
above. 

There  are  many  advantages  in  this  mode  of  heating;  it  prevents  the 
dirt  and  risk  from  fires  arising  from  the  use  of  stoves,  and  gives  a  very 
pleasant  and  healthful  atmosphere.  The  Cylinder  Press  in  this  room, 
upon  which  the  "  American  Republican"  is  printed,  is  capable  of  printing 
off  about  4000  per  hour. 

The  First  Storv,  or  Store  part  of  the  building,  is  occupied  as  a 
Counting-room  and  Storage-room  for  paper. 

The  Second  Stories  are  used  for  pressing  printed  sheets,  and  for 
Bookbinding. 

The  Third  Stories  are  used  for  the  Press  Rooms.  In  these  rooms  are 
six  Adams's  Improved,  two  Hoe's  Cylinder  Power  Presses,  and  three 
Hand  Presses.  The  power  presses  are  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  supe- 
rior for  Book  printing  of  any  ever  invented.  They  are  calculated  for  every 
description  of  letter-press  printing.  The  finest  wood  engravings  are  print- 
ed on   them  in  a  manner  not  inferior  to  the  most  careful  hand  press  work. 

The  Fourth  Stories  are  used  for  Composition  Rooms.  In  these 
there  are  four  divisions,  entirely  distinct  from  each  other. 

First  Division,  is  for  Book  work  in  the  English  Language. 

Second  Division,  is  for  Book  work  in  the  Oriental  and  Classical  Lan- 
guages. 


® 


^ — ( 

PRINTING  ESTABLISHMENT. 

Third  Division,  is  for  the  composition  of  the  American  Republican. 
Fourth  Division,  is  for  the  composition  of  Job  work  of  every  variety. 
The  Fifth  Stories  are  used  for  proof-reading,  and  a  drying  room, 
The  principal  portion  of  the  paper-drying  is  done  in  this  part  of  the  estab- 
lishment. The  heat  is  conveyed  to  this  room  in  the  manner  already  de- 
scribed ;  and  is  admirably  calculated  for  the  purpose.  The  heat  is  great, 
and  being  conducted  into  this  part  of  the  building  through  tin  pipes, 
enables  us  to  dry  in  all  weather  without  inconvenience  to  any  person 
engaged  in  the  building. 

From  this  description  it  will  be  seen  that  our  office  is  arranged  upon  a 
plan  of  convenience,  safety,  and  system,  well  adapted  to  the  accommoda- 
tion of  publishers  and  authors.  Our  fonts  of  type,  from  Agate  to  Pica,  are 
new  and  very  large,  enabling  us,  with  our  other  means,  to  print  works  of 
every  description,  both  Letter-Press  and  Stereotype,  from  the  smallest 
Job  to  the  largest  Volume,  with  the  utmost  accuracy  and  despatch. 

To  the  Classical  and  Oriental  Department  of  our  business  we 
invite  particular  attention.  We  have  in  our  employment  experienced 
and  accurate  Compositors,  regularly  trained  to  this  branch  of  the  busi- 
ness ;  and  a  gentleman  of  education  and  experience  as  Proof-Reader,  for 
this  Department  especially. 

Our  Type,  of  which  specimens  are  given  on  the  pages  following,  is  of 
a  very  beautiful  cut,  from  the  celebrated  Foundery  of  Tauchnitz,  of 
Leipzig.  The  fonts  are  in  perfect  order,  and  of  sufficient  size  to  enable 
us  to  execute  any  required  work. 

As  specimens  of  the  accuracy  and  beauty  of  the  Greek  and  Oriental 
Works  printed  by  us,  we  refer,  among  others,  to  the  following  : 

Gesenius'  Hebrew  Lexicon.  Translated  by  Edward  Robinson, 
D.D.  Published  by  Crocker  &  Brewster,  Boston.— Novum  Testamen- 
TUM  Graece.  Edited  by  Edward  Robinson,  D.D.  Published  by  Leavitt, 
Trow  &  Co. — Nordheimer's  Hebrew  Grammar  and  Concordance. 
Published  by  Wiley  &  Putnam. — Xenophon's  Anabasis,  and  Homer's 
OoyssEY.  Edited  by  J.  J.  Owen,  A.M.  Published  by  Leavitt,  Trow  & 
Co. — Crusius'  Homeric  Lexicon.  Translated  by  Prof  H.  Smith.  Pub- 
lished by  H.  Huntington,  Hartford. — Bush's  Hebrew  Grammar,  and 
other  works. 

Our  business  has  the  personal  attention  of  ourselves — and  we  trust  by 
unwearied  application  to  receive  from  our  patrons  and  the  public  in  gen- 
eial  .1  continuance  of  their  patronage. 

JOHN  F.  TROW  &   CO. 

J.  F.  Thow,  ) 

Jonathan  Leavitt.  \ 


® — — « 

JOHN    F.    TROW    AND    COMPANY'S 


Qpedmena  of  (Bxttk  anlr  ©riental  ^SP^- 


PICA    GREEK. 

ovy  xal  -d-bbg  r^v  6  Xoyog.     Ovrog  riv  ev  ccqx^  ngbg 
Tov  -d^nov.     Havra  hi  avrov  eysvsro^  7ca\  ^ojQlg  av- 

II. 

SMALL    PICA    GREEK. 

^Ev  OLq'fTi  l]v  0  Xoyog,  :iat  6  Xoyog  yv  TiQog  rov  d^sov,  x«f  d^sog 
Tjv  6  Xoyog.  Ovtog  yv  iv  ccQ^y  ngog  rov  daov.  Zlavra  8i  avzov 
iysverOj  nal  x^QiS  avzov  iysvsro  ov8s  IV,  6  ysyovsv.     'Ev  avr^  ^corj 

III. 

LONG    PRIMER    GREEK 

'£v  KQxfl  ^v  o  Xoyog,  xal  6  Xoyog  rjv  TiQog  rov  -d^sov,  xal  Ssog  i]v  6 
Xoyog.  Ovrog  rjV  iv  (XQxfj  ngog  rov  ■dsov.  Havia  di  ccvrov  iyevtio, 
Kou  Xo^Qh  «vtov  iyivETo  ovds  ev,  6  ysyovsv.    'Ev  ai/iw  ^wj^  riv,  xal  rj  ^ooi] 

IV. 

BOURGEOIS    GREEK. 

'Ev  oiQxfj  riv  o  Xoyoq  xal  o  Xoyos  riv  Ttooq  tov  O-fov,  y.al  O-^oq  ^v  o  ).6yoq. 
Olraq  rfv  iv  aoxfj  nooq  rov  ^tov.  Jldvxot,  6v  ai-roi;  iyivfto,  y.al  /o^ot? 
avtov  iysvero  ovdh  iv,  o  yeyoviv.    'Ev  avrw  ^urij  tip,  y.at  'tj  ^w»;  tjr  to  q/uiq  xuiv 


V. 

B  REVI ER    GREEK 

'Ej*  dpx5  '^^  ^  ^tfyoS»  "'"i  0  XiJyof  nv  npdg  tov  Bedv,  kgI  Oeds  rjv  h  "ySyog.  Ovroi  riv 
iv  dpx3  Tpds  TOV  0c6v.  IlajTa  Jt  airoO  tytiero,  kuX  %wptf  avTov  lytvCTO  oi6i  Iv,  S 
yiyovev.      'E,v  avru)  ^wi)  rjv,  kui  f)  ^cojj   j^v  to  (pus  tuv  dvdpuinwv  '   Kal  to  (fxZs  iv  tJ  (^ko- 


® — — . — ( 

PRINTING    ESTABLISHMENT. 

VI. 

GREAT    PRIMER    HEBREW. 

'    V    T    T  ••:  •    -    T    -  ••  •        ••:  T  T  •        ••  : 

-         :  :         ••    :  -!•.•:  t  t  :     t      '     v    t    t 

■^r?  D^"^  "^1)22^^]  :  n^-^n  ^2B-bv  rDHna  CDn'bN 

VII. 

ENGLISH    HEBREW. 
J   V  T   T :  J   V  T    T  •• :  •   —  T  —  ••  •       v;  t  r  •       ••    : 

n|nn-^  Q^n'^ist  m;i  Dinn  ^:>3-b?  T]"mi  inhi  ^nh  nn:n 

VIII. 

PICA    HEBREW. 

^2S-b:?  n?r?"3''9   Q'^n''^?.  n'^*^"^  Qinn  ^DB-b?  ^izjrri  inhi  ?inh 

IX. 

SMALL    PICA    HEBREW. 

T  T  :    T        I      V    T   T  :  I      V    T    T  •• :  •    -    T    -  ••  •      v:  T   T  •  ~    t 

D^rj'bx  ">'2&<^T    :  D'^^an  "^33"^?  r^snn^a  Q^n'bx  n^^n  Dinn  'iDQ'b^  T\^n) 
"pa  n^n":i<  ^n^i  niD-^s  ^iKn-rx  t'^n^'bx  t^'i^i    t^lji-^n'^^  ni5<  %'ii 


X. 

MINION    HEBREW 

(without  points.) 

wr^^a  i^:^^  :  "ns^-^niT  nix  •^rr'  D"^nbN  n^i<"'T ;  can  •'SD-^y  n&n-ia  Ti-in^N  m-ii  cinn 
"jTOn^n  DT  mixj?  D^njsjx  jcnp-^i  ;  -jionn  Y^^  nixn  pn  a^n>i«  bnn^i  niD-^D  niixn-nN 

5 

^ — -® 


.^■' 


JOHN    F.    TROW    AND    COMPANY  S 

XI. 

LONG     PRIMER     HEBREW, 

(without    points.) 

n3nn)2  Q^nb^  nivi  Linn  "^DS-bi?  '^rcni  "inm  inn  nn^n 
jsjTi  :mi<-^n"'"i  m^Js'^rT'  D^nbxs:  n^ai^^i  :D^73n  ""DS-b:? 


XII. 

BOURGEOIS    HEBREW, 

(without    points.) 

d^hSn  nm  D^nn  ^:£)-Sr  y^'n)  inni  .inn  nn^n 
"^1n  mx  'H'  □\n^j<  i^oxn  :D^Dn  u£)'^rni:nnD 


XIII. 

SMALL    PICA    RABBINIC. 

'35-^2?  "jcri  it53T  i:5p  r^p'o  pf*:^!  •  pf'D  pf*!  D'rcr?  pf>  t)»r5^f>  ('•53  p'cf''?? 
:  •5if'-»o'i  'i)f>  »o»  D'w)if>  '^^'f'M  J  D'rD  ':D-if>  prr-5r  D'Dif>  rni  D)r>p 


XIV. 

GREAT    PRIMER    SYRIAC. 

ajKac  y         ^y       '^  y  y        >  y         >•  .     POP       ,      .» 

l9cu^     fs     O^r^    H^     01990.^    (js    0(719    :  juJ|:^    ( ^\jk 

OOP  7  ^  \^  ^  \^      ^^  ^  "  °        'i^  ^ 


XV. 

ENGLISH    SYRIAC. 
\'>'< ^         *i      ^.-^JZ     ^f^""^      a.s]  foci     *\i~4£3^      jXo^      jjcruo 

6 

, ^ . ® 


PRINTING  ESTABLISHMENT. 

XVI. 

PICA    ARABIC. 

if^^^^      o  '  S^    ^^     0-0  i    or    , -c.       -J    >-  c-  ^f 

^y^J<jLJUs    JiS<3   J^o    xUi    jj^    1*3^  jjyb   ^^X^   <A^1 


XVII. 

SMALL    PICA    ARABIC. 


XVIII. 

PICA    SAMARITAN. 


^t^m    :iA^^ffl   *ffl^iA   ^^t^iTl    ^^^5 

:3tWfflt    *5^fflfflt    ^^^^SA 


XIX. 

PICA    ETHIOPIC, 


(D-i-^h:  Ff^i:  uap:  ^:  mh:  0AHi::  0AAp: 
2ifi<p:  AA<pc:  ^1^:  (p'hL:  1\:  i-t:  (5><Pti^m\j\: 


XX. 

ENGLISH     COPTIC. 


7 


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BARNES'S  NOTES  ON  JOB. 

Notes,  Critical,  Illustrative  and  Practical,  on  the  Book  of  Job;  with  a 
New  Translation  and  an  Introductory  Dissertation.  By  Albert  Barnes 
2  vols  12mo. 

From  the  New-York  Observer. 
"  The  more  we  read  them,  the  more  we  value  them." 

From  the  New-York  Evangelist. 
"  It  is  a  most  able,  useful,  and  creditable  work." 

OWEN'S  XENOPHON'S  ANABASIS- 

We  have  recommendatory  notices  of  this  work  of  the  highest  charac- 
ter, from  Profe.ssors  Woolsey,  Sophocles,  and  Felton,  and  many  other 
distinguished  scholars. 

OWEN'S   HOMER'S  ODYSSEY. 

The  particular  attention  of  all  Professors  and  Teachers  is  invited  to 
this  the  first  American  edition  of  the  Od)'ssey. 

ROBINSON'S    HAHN'S    GREEK   TESTAMENT- 

From  Professor  Stuart,  of  Andover. 
There  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt,  that  this  edition  of  the  New  Testament, 
will,  from  its  cheapness  and  excellence,  soon  occupy  the  whole  of  our 
market.  On  many  accounts  it  is  preferable  to  Knapp,  and  on  all  accounts 
far  superior  to  our  common  editions.  It  is  truly  a  work  of  "  niultum  in 
parvo." 

IN  PRESS, 
an  edition  of  this  work,  octavo  size,  printed  on  fine  sized  paper,  suitable 
for  making  marginal  notes. 

IN  immediate   PREPARATION, 

OWEN'S  XENOPHON'S  CYROPAEDIA. 


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